One of the first steps you take when you are determining 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.

In Thief River Falls you can estimate when it's the best time to plant chard by looking at 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.

Chard can survive in mild cold which tells us that you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant chard in Thief River Falls 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 fully mature. Starting your chard indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Thief River Falls the average date of last frost happens on May 15. You should expect an average low temperature of -35°F in the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Thief River Falls may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Thief River Falls last frost occurs after May 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your chard in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Thief River Falls

Here is the info for USDA Zone 3b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-35°F
Highest Expected Low	-30°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -35°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -30°F.

Plants to Grow in Thief River Falls

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Thief River Falls.