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

A common way of getting a good idea when to plant chard is to refer to the USDA zone info for Cranston.

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 moderately cold tolerant you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant chard in Cranston 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 Cranston. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -5°F.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Cranston may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Cranston you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your chard in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Cranston

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 Cranston

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