When to Plant Beets in Mankato, MN

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.

The USDA zone info for Mankato should be used to figure out when to plant beets.


Planting Calendar for Beets

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

Beets do well in moderate cold which means that you can plant them earlier than more sensitive plants.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant beets
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant beets
Probably not a good time to plant beets

The earliest that you can plant beets in Mankato 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 beets and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your beets may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your beets indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on May 15 in Mankato. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -25°F.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Mankato is just an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Mankato you get surprised by a frost after May 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your beets in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Mankato

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 Mankato

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