One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of determining when you can plant artichokes is to refer to the USDA zone info for North Branch.

Planting Calendar for Artichokes

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

Artichokes do ok in a little bit of cold which tells us that 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 artichokes in North Branch 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 artichokes and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your artichokes may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your artichokes indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is May 15 in North Branch. 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 just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for North Branch and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in North Branch there is a last frost after May 15 be ready to cover your artichokes in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for North Branch

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 North Branch

You may be interested in your other planting guides for North Branch.