Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out 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.

In Rochester you can estimate when it's the best time to plant sweet corn by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Sweet corn

Frost tolerance for sweet corn:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Sweet corn are barely cold tolerant which means that you can get them planted just a bit earlier than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant sweet corn in Rochester 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 sweet corn and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your sweet corn may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your sweet corn 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 Rochester. It might get as low as -25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Rochester may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Rochester last frost occurs after May 15 be ready to protect your sweet corn if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Rochester

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 Rochester

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