One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

A common way of getting a good idea when to plant watercress is to check out the USDA zone info for Hutchinson.

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.

Since watercress are barely cold tolerant you can plant them slightly earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant watercress in Hutchinson 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 really do well. If you are starting your watercress indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is May 15 in Hutchinson. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -25°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Hutchinson is just an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Hutchinson you get surprised by a frost after May 15 be ready to protect your watercress if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Hutchinson

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 Hutchinson

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