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.

By referring to the USDA zone info for Marshall you will be able to estimate when it's a good idea to plant alternaria.

Planting Calendar for Alternaria

Frost tolerance for alternaria:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

It's probably a bad idea to plant alternaria until after the last frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant alternaria in Marshall is April. However, you really should wait until May if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant alternaria and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your alternaria may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your alternaria indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Marshall. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Marshall may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Marshall you get a frost after March 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your alternaria if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Marshall

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Marshall

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