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

The first opportunity to plant sweet corn in Richmond should be figured out by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Sweet corn

Frost tolerance for sweet corn:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Sweet corn are one of those plants that can tolerate a tiny bit of cold weather which tells us that you can plant them slightly earlier than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant sweet corn in Richmond 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 sweet corn and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your sweet corn may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your sweet corn indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Richmond is not always accurate the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Richmond it frosts late in the year after February 15 be ready to cover your sweet corn if you have a surprise 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.