Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

It's possible to determine when you can plant chard by using the USDA zone info for Elk River.

Planting Calendar for Chard

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

Chard do well in mild cold which tells us 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 Elk River 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your chard may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your chard indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on May 15 in Elk River. You can expect an average low temperature of -25°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Elk River is an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Elk River you get surprised by a frost after May 15 so always be ready to protect your chard in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Elk River

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 Elk River

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Elk River.