The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of estimating when it's the best time to plant stocks is to check out the USDA zone info for Dowagiac.

Planting Calendar for Stocks

Frost tolerance for stocks:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Stocks are barely cold tolerant which means that you can start planting them slightly earlier than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant stocks in Dowagiac 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 stocks and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your stocks may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your stocks 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 Dowagiac. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Dowagiac and it is different every year. Since half of the time in Dowagiac you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your stocks if you have 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.