One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of making a decision about when it's a good idea to plant jerusalem artichokes is to look at the USDA zone info for Columbia.

Planting Calendar for Jerusalem artichokes

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

You can plant jerusalem artichokes a little bit earlier in the year because they do well in moderate cold.

The earliest that you can plant jerusalem artichokes in Columbia 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your jerusalem artichokes may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your jerusalem artichokes indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Columbia. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 0°F.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Columbia and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Columbia there is a last frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your jerusalem artichokes in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Columbia

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 Columbia

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