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

It's a good idea to determine when it's a good idea to plant watercress by using the USDA zone info for Augusta.

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 well in some cold which means that you can plant them just a tiny bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant watercress in Augusta 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. Any later than that and your watercress may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your watercress indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Augusta. It might get as low as -20°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Augusta is just an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Augusta there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to protect your watercress if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Augusta

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-20°F
Highest Expected Low	-15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -15°F.

Plants to Grow in Augusta

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