One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the 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 painted tongues is to look at the USDA zone info for Battle Creek.

Planting Calendar for Painted Tongues

Frost tolerance for painted tongues:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost.

You really shouldn't plant painted tongues until after all chance of frost has passed because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant painted tongues in Battle Creek is April. However, you really should wait until May if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant painted tongues and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your painted tongues may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your painted tongues indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Battle Creek. It might get as low as -10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Battle Creek is an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Battle Creek you get a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your painted tongues in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Battle Creek

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 Battle Creek

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Battle Creek.