When to Plant Chard in Moorhead, MN

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The first chance to plant chard in Moorhead can be figured out by using the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Chard

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

Since chard are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather you can plant them a little bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

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

The earliest that you can plant chard in Moorhead 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. If you wait any later than that and your chard may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your chard indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on May 15 in Moorhead. You should expect an average low temperature of -30°F in the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Moorhead and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Moorhead you get a frost after May 15 be ready to cover your chard in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Moorhead

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)September 15
Lowest Expected Low-30°F
Highest Expected Low-25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -30°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -25°F.

Plants to Grow in Moorhead

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