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.

The USDA zone info for Franklin can be used to figure out when it's a good idea to plant beets.

Planting Calendar for Beets

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

Beets can survive in mild cold which tells us that you can plant them a little bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant beets in Franklin is February. However, you really should wait until March if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant beets and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your beets may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your beets indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Franklin the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -20°F.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Franklin and it is different every year. Since half of the time in Franklin it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to protect your beets if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Franklin

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-20°F
Highest Expected Low	-15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -15°F.

Plants to Grow in Franklin

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