One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the 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.

One way of making a decision about when to plant thyme is to refer to the USDA zone info for Mount Carmel.

Planting Calendar for Thyme

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

Thyme can survive in quite a bit of cold which tells us that you can plant them a lot earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant thyme in Mount Carmel 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 thyme and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your thyme may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your thyme indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Mount Carmel. It might get as low as 0°F during the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Mount Carmel and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Mount Carmel last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to protect your thyme in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Mount Carmel

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 Mount Carmel

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Mount Carmel.