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

In Big Lake you can determine when to plant watercress by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Watercress

Frost tolerance for watercress:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

You can plant watercress a bit earlier in the year because they are barely cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant watercress in Big Lake is April. However, you really should wait until May if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant watercress and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your watercress may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your watercress indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is May 15 in Big Lake. It might get as low as -25°F during the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Big Lake is just an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Big Lake you get surprised by a frost after May 15 be ready to protect your watercress if you have a 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.