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.

You will be able to estimate when it's a good idea to plant chard by referring to the USDA zone info for Rusk.

Planting Calendar for Chard

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

Chard do ok in a little bit of cold which means that 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 Rusk 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your chard may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your chard indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on March 15 in Rusk. It might get as low as 15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Rusk and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Rusk there is a last frost after March 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your chard in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Rusk

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 Rusk

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