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 best time to plant chard in Buffalo should be estimated by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Chard

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

Chard do ok in moderate cold which means that you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

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

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on May 15 in Buffalo. It might get as low as -25°F during the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Buffalo may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Buffalo there is a last frost after May 15 be ready to cover your chard if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Buffalo

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 Buffalo

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Buffalo.