One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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.

The USDA zone info for Mechanicsburg can be read to determine when it's a good idea to plant jerusalem artichokes.

Planting Calendar for Jerusalem artichokes

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

Jerusalem artichokes do well in mild cold which tells us that you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant jerusalem artichokes 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 jerusalem artichokes and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your jerusalem artichokes may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your jerusalem artichokes indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Mechanicsburg may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Mechanicsburg you get a frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your jerusalem artichokes 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 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 Mechanicsburg

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