One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the 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 making a decision about when it's possible to plant chives is to check out the USDA zone info for Newark.

Planting Calendar for Chives

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

Since chives do well in cold you can plant them earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant chives in Newark 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 chives and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your chives may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your chives indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Newark. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -10°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Newark is not always accurate the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Newark you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so always be ready to cover your chives if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Newark

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 Newark

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