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.

One way of getting a good idea when it's the best time to plant corn is to refer to the USDA zone info for Ruidoso.

Planting Calendar for Corn

Frost tolerance for corn:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost has passed.

It's probably not a good idea to plant corn until after the last frost has passed because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant corn in Ruidoso is April. However, you really should wait until May if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant corn and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your corn may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your corn indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Ruidoso. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -5°F.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Ruidoso is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Ruidoso there is a last frost after April 15 so always be ready to cover your corn in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Ruidoso

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 Ruidoso

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