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.

The first opportunity to plant asters in Big Lake can be estimated by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Asters

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

Since asters are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather you can plant them a little bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant asters in Big Lake 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 asters and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your asters may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your asters indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Big Lake the average date of last frost happens on May 15. You should expect an average low temperature of -25°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Big Lake is not always accurate the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Big Lake it frosts late in the year after May 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your asters if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Big Lake

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 Big Lake

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Big Lake.