One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A common way of estimating when to plant asparagus is to refer to the USDA zone info for Albert Lea.

Planting Calendar for Asparagus

Frost tolerance for asparagus:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Since asparagus do well in cold you can plant them a lot earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

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

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on May 15 in Albert Lea. It might get as low as -25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Albert Lea is an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Albert Lea you get a frost after May 15 be ready to cover your asparagus if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Albert Lea

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-25°F
Highest Expected Low	-20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -20°F.

Plants to Grow in Albert Lea

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Albert Lea.