Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

A common way of determining when to plant fennel is to check out the USDA zone info for East Petersburg.

Planting Calendar for Fennel

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

Since fennel do well in cold you can plant them earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant fennel in East Petersburg 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 fennel and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your fennel may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your fennel indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in East Petersburg. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -5°F.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for East Petersburg is an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in East Petersburg it frosts late in the year after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your fennel if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for East Petersburg

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

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

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

Plants to Grow in East Petersburg

You may be interested in your other planting guides for East Petersburg.