When to Plant Strawberries in Watertown, SD

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

By using the USDA zone info for Watertown you should be able to estimate when it's possible to plant strawberries.


Planting Calendar for Strawberries

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

You can plant strawberries quite a bit earlier in the year because they are one of those plants that can tolerate quite a bit of cold weather.

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

The earliest that you can plant strawberries in Watertown 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 strawberries and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your strawberries may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your strawberries indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Watertown is an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Watertown it frosts late in the year after May 15 be ready to protect your strawberries if you have one of those late frosts.

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.