One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of estimating when it's a good idea to plant alternaria is to check out the USDA zone info for Big Stone Gap.

Planting Calendar for Alternaria

Frost tolerance for alternaria:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost has passed.

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

The earliest that you can plant alternaria in Big Stone Gap 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. If you wait any later than that and your alternaria may not have a chance to really do well. 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

In Big Stone Gap the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You can expect an average low temperature of -5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Big Stone Gap and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Big Stone Gap you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your alternaria in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Big Stone Gap

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-5°F
Highest Expected Low	0°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 0°F.

Plants to Grow in Big Stone Gap

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Big Stone Gap.