One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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.

A common way of determining when to plant stocks is to refer to the USDA zone info for Somerset.

Planting Calendar for Stocks

Frost tolerance for stocks:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Since stocks do ok in moderate cold you can plant them just a tiny bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant stocks in Somerset is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant stocks and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your stocks may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your stocks indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Remember that USDA zone info for Somerset is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Somerset you get a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your stocks if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Somerset

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 Somerset

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