When to Plant Beets in Gaithersburg, MD

One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about 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.

By reviewing the USDA zone info for Gaithersburg it's possible to determine when to plant beets.


Planting Calendar for Beets

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

You can plant beets just a bit earlier in the year because they are moderately cold tolerant.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant beets
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant beets
Probably not a good time to plant beets

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

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Gaithersburg. It might get as low as 0°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Gaithersburg and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Gaithersburg last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to cover your beets in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Gaithersburg

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low0°F
Highest Expected Low5°F

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

Plants to Grow in Gaithersburg

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