One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Richmond can be reviewed to determine when to plant beets.

Planting Calendar for Beets

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

Beets do well in mild cold which tells us that you can plant them a little earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant beets in Richmond 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 beets and expect a good harvest is probably October. Any later than that and your beets may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your beets indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Richmond the average date of last frost happens on February 15. It might get as low as 20°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Richmond is not always accurate the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Richmond last frost occurs after February 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your beets in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Richmond

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 Richmond

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