Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Bloomingdale you can figure out when it's a good idea to plant chard by reviewing 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 are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather which tells us that you can get them planted earlier than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant chard in Bloomingdale 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 chard and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your chard may not have a chance to really do well. 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 April 15 in Bloomingdale. You should expect an average low temperature of -5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Bloomingdale and it is different every year. Half of the time in Bloomingdale you get a frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your chard if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Bloomingdale

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-5°F
Highest Expected Low	0°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 0°F.

Plants to Grow in Bloomingdale

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