One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out your gardening schedule is find your 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.

A way of estimating when it's possible to plant stocks is to refer to the USDA zone info for Portsmouth.

Planting Calendar for Stocks

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

Since stocks are barely cold tolerant you can plant them slightly earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant stocks in Portsmouth 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 stocks and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your stocks may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your stocks indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Portsmouth. You should expect an average low temperature of -10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Portsmouth is not always accurate the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Portsmouth there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to cover your stocks if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Portsmouth

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-10°F
Highest Expected Low	-5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Portsmouth

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