One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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 determining when it's a good idea to plant chard is to consult the USDA zone info for Bellevue.

Planting Calendar for Chard

Frost tolerance for chard:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Chard do well in moderate cold which tells us that you can plant them a little bit earlier than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant chard in Bellevue 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. If you wait any later than that and your chard may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your chard indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Bellevue. It might get as low as -10°F during the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Bellevue and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Bellevue you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your chard if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Bellevue

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 Bellevue

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