One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

By reviewing the USDA zone info for Holyoke you will be able to estimate when it's the best time to plant borage.

Planting Calendar for Borage

Frost tolerance for borage:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Borage are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather which means that you can start planting them earlier than other frost tender plants.

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

The last month that you can plant borage and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your borage may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your borage indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Holyoke. You should expect an average low temperature of -10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Holyoke is an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Holyoke it frosts late in the year after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your borage if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Holyoke

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-10°F
Highest Expected Low	-5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Holyoke

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