One of the first steps you take when you are estimating your gardening schedule is find your 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 getting a good idea when it's the best time to plant chard is to consult the USDA zone info for Bridgeport.

Planting Calendar for Chard

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

Chard do well in moderate cold which tells us that you can get them planted earlier than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant chard in Bridgeport 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. If you wait 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

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on March 15 in Bridgeport. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 10°F.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Bridgeport and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Bridgeport it frosts late in the year after March 15 be ready to protect your chard if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Bridgeport

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 15°F.

Plants to Grow in Bridgeport

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