Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Red Oak you can determine when it's a good idea to plant chard by referring to the USDA zone info.

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 means that you can start planting them earlier than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant chard in Red Oak 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 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 Red Oak 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.

Remember that USDA zone info for Red Oak may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Red Oak it frosts late in the year after March 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your chard if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Red Oak

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 Red Oak

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Red Oak.