When to Plant Asparagus in Mechanicsburg, PA

One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By reviewing the USDA zone info for Mechanicsburg you will be able to figure out when it's possible to plant asparagus.


Planting Calendar for Asparagus

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

Asparagus do well in quite a bit of cold which tells us that you can plant them much earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant asparagus
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant asparagus
Probably not a good time to plant asparagus

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

Last Frost Date

In Mechanicsburg the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You can expect an average low temperature of 0°F in the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Mechanicsburg and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Mechanicsburg there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to cover your asparagus in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Mechanicsburg

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 Low0°F
Highest Expected Low5°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 Mechanicsburg

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