One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of figuring out when it's possible to plant chard is to use the USDA zone info for Stewartville.

Planting Calendar for Chard

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

Since chard do well in moderate cold you can plant them a little bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant chard in Stewartville 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. Any later than that and your chard may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your chard indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on May 15 in Stewartville. You should expect an average low temperature of -25°F in the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Stewartville and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Stewartville there is a last frost after May 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your chard in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Stewartville

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 Stewartville

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