One of the first steps you take when you are determining 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.

The USDA zone info for Dowagiac should be reviewed to estimate when it's a good idea 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.

Beets can survive in some cold which means that you can plant them a little earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant beets in Dowagiac 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 fully mature. Starting your beets indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Dowagiac is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Dowagiac you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your beets in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Dowagiac

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-15°F
Highest Expected Low	-10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Dowagiac

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