Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By reviewing the USDA zone info for Ionia it's possible to determine when to plant stocks.

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.

You can plant stocks slightly earlier in the year because they do ok in moderate cold.

The earliest that you can plant stocks in Ionia 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. Any later than that and your stocks may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your stocks indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Ionia. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

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

USDA Zone Info for Ionia

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 Ionia

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