When to Plant Bunching Onions in Watertown, SD

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out 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.

One way of getting a good idea when it's possible to plant bunching onions is to examine the USDA zone info for Watertown.


Planting Calendar for Bunching Onions

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

Since bunching onions do ok in moderate cold you can plant them slightly earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

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

The earliest that you can plant bunching onions in Watertown is April. However, you really should wait until May if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant bunching onions and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your bunching onions may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your bunching onions indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Watertown the average date of last frost happens on May 15. You should expect an average low temperature of -30°F in the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Watertown is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Watertown there is a last frost after May 15 be ready to protect your bunching onions if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Watertown

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)September 15
Lowest Expected Low-30°F
Highest Expected Low-25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -30°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -25°F.

Plants to Grow in Watertown

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