One of the first steps you take when you are determining your gardening schedule is find your 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.

In Malden you can figure out when it's possible to plant watercress by reviewing 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.

Watercress do ok in moderate cold which means that you can start planting them slightly earlier than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant watercress in Malden 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 grow to maturity. 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 Malden. It might get as low as -5°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Malden is not always accurate the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Malden you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your watercress in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Malden

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 Malden

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