Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By using the USDA zone info for Valley City it's possible to estimate when you can plant thyme.

Planting Calendar for Thyme

Frost tolerance for thyme:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

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

The earliest that you can plant thyme in Valley City 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 thyme and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your thyme may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your thyme indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on May 15 in Valley City. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -30°F.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Valley City and it is different every year. Half of the time in Valley City it frosts late in the year after May 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your thyme in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Valley City

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 Valley City

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Valley City.