Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

A common way of making a decision about when you can plant chives is to examine the USDA zone info for Cambridge.

Planting Calendar for Chives

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

Since chives do well in cold you can plant them a lot earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant chives in Cambridge 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 chives and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your chives may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your chives indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Cambridge the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 5°F.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Cambridge and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Cambridge it frosts late in the year after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your chives in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Cambridge

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

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

Plants to Grow in Cambridge

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