Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The first opportunity to plant watercress in Monticello can be estimated by reviewing the USDA zone info.

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.

Watercress tend to make it in some cold which means that you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant watercress in Monticello 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. If you wait any later than that and your watercress may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your watercress indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Monticello is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Monticello there is a last frost after May 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your watercress in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Monticello

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 Monticello

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