Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By referring to the USDA zone info for Shawnee it's possible to determine when to plant chard.

Planting Calendar for Chard

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

Since chard are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather you can plant them a little earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant chard in Shawnee 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 grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your chard indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Shawnee. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 0°F.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Shawnee and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Shawnee you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your chard if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Shawnee

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	0°F
Highest Expected Low	5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 0°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 5°F.

Plants to Grow in Shawnee

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