One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about 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.

The first chance to plant nigella in Alfred can be estimated by checking out the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Nigella

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

Since nigella do well in cold you can plant them quite a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant nigella in Alfred 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 nigella and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your nigella may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your nigella indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Alfred. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Alfred is just an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Alfred it frosts late in the year after April 15 so always be ready to cover your nigella if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Alfred

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

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

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Alfred

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