One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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.

A common way of determining when to plant chicory is to use the USDA zone info for Greenbelt.

Planting Calendar for Chicory

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

Chicory do well in mild cold which tells us that you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant chicory in Greenbelt 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 chicory and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your chicory may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your chicory indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Greenbelt. You can expect an average low temperature of 0°F in the coldest months of winter.

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

USDA Zone Info for Greenbelt

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 Low	0°F
Highest Expected Low	5°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 Greenbelt

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