One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

By referring to the USDA zone info for Germantown you will be able to figure out when it's possible to plant chard.

Planting Calendar for Chard

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

Chard are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather which means that you can plant them a little bit earlier than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant chard in Germantown 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. Any later than that and your chard may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your chard indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Germantown the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You can expect an average low temperature of 5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Germantown is just an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Germantown last frost occurs after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your chard if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Germantown

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	5°F
Highest Expected Low	10°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 10°F.

Plants to Grow in Germantown

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