The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Eaton you can determine when it's the best time 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 moderately cold tolerant which means that you can plant them earlier than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant chard in Eaton 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. If you are starting your chard indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Eaton. You should expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Eaton is an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Eaton last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to protect your chard if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Eaton

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 Eaton

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