One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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.

You should be able to figure out when it's possible to plant chard by checking out the USDA zone info for Hempstead.

Planting Calendar for Chard

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

Chard tend to make it in a little bit of cold which tells us that you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant chard in Hempstead is January. However, you really should wait until February if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant chard and expect a good harvest is probably October. If you wait any later than that and your chard may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your chard indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Hempstead the average date of last frost happens on February 15. You should expect an average low temperature of 20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Hempstead may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Hempstead there is a last frost after February 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your chard in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Hempstead

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	20°F
Highest Expected Low	25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 25°F.

Plants to Grow in Hempstead

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