One of the first steps you take when you are determining 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 determine when to plant chard by reviewing the USDA zone info for Hillsboro.

Planting Calendar for Chard

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

Since chard are moderately cold tolerant 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 Hillsboro 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. If you are starting your chard indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Hillsboro the average date of last frost happens on March 15. You can expect an average low temperature of 10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Hillsboro is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Hillsboro you get a frost after March 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your chard if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Hillsboro

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 Hillsboro

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