One of the first steps you take when you are determining 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.

One way of figuring out when it's a good idea to plant chicory is to use the USDA zone info for International Falls.

Planting Calendar for Chicory

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

Since chicory are moderately cold tolerant you can plant them a little earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant chicory in International Falls 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 chicory and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your chicory may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your chicory indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is May 15 in International Falls. You can expect an average low temperature of -40°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for International Falls is an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in International Falls you get surprised by a frost after May 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your chicory in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for International Falls

Here is the info for USDA Zone 3a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-40°F
Highest Expected Low	-35°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -40°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -35°F.

Plants to Grow in International Falls

You may be interested in your other planting guides for International Falls.