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

One way of determining when it's the best time to plant jerusalem artichokes is to check out the USDA zone info for Albert Lea.

Planting Calendar for Jerusalem artichokes

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

You can plant jerusalem artichokes a bit earlier in the year because they are moderately cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant jerusalem artichokes 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 jerusalem artichokes and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your jerusalem artichokes may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your jerusalem artichokes indoors.

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.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Albert Lea is just an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Albert Lea last frost occurs after May 15 so always be ready to protect your jerusalem artichokes in the event of a 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.