Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Gloucester you can determine when you can plant watercress by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Watercress

Frost tolerance for watercress:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

You can plant watercress just a tiny bit earlier in the year because they are barely cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant watercress in Gloucester is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant watercress and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your watercress may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your watercress indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Gloucester. You should expect an average low temperature of -5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Gloucester is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Gloucester there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to cover your watercress in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Gloucester

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-5°F
Highest Expected Low	0°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 0°F.

Plants to Grow in Gloucester

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Gloucester.