One of the first steps you take when you are estimating your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A common way of determining when to plant fennel is to refer to the USDA zone info for Methuen.

Planting Calendar for Fennel

Frost tolerance for fennel:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Fennel are very cold tolerant which means that you can get them planted much earlier than other frost tender plants.

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

Last Frost Date

In Methuen the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You should expect an average low temperature of -10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Methuen may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Methuen last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to cover your fennel in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Methuen

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 Methuen

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