Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out 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 way of figuring out when it's the best time to plant garden cress is to examine the USDA zone info for Birmingham.

Planting Calendar for Garden cress

Frost tolerance for garden cress:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

Since garden cress require warm weather it's important to wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant garden cress in Birmingham 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 garden cress and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your garden cress may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your garden cress indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Birmingham. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -10°F.

Remember that USDA zone info for Birmingham is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Birmingham you get a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your garden cress if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Birmingham

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 Birmingham

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