The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

You can estimate when it's the best time to plant artichokes in Big Stone Gap by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Artichokes

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

Artichokes do well in mild cold which tells us that you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant artichokes in Big Stone Gap 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 artichokes and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your artichokes may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your artichokes indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Big Stone Gap. You should expect an average low temperature of -5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Big Stone Gap is not always accurate the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit 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 cover your artichokes if you have a late frost.

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.