One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out 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.

The first opportunity to plant chicory in Albert Lea should be estimated by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Chicory

Frost tolerance for chicory:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

You can plant chicory a little bit earlier in the year because they do well in moderate cold.

The earliest that you can plant chicory 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 chicory and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your chicory may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your chicory indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is May 15 in Albert Lea. You can expect an average low temperature of -25°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Albert Lea is an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Albert Lea there is a last frost after May 15 so always be ready to protect your chicory if you have a surprise late frost.

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.