One of the first steps you take when you are determining your gardening schedule is find your 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.

In Portsmouth you can determine when to plant clover by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Clover

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

Clover are barely cold tolerant which means that you can start planting them slightly earlier than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant clover in Portsmouth is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant clover and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your clover may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your clover indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Portsmouth. You can expect an average low temperature of 10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Portsmouth and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Portsmouth you get surprised by a frost after March 15 be ready to cover your clover in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Portsmouth

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 15°F.

Plants to Grow in Portsmouth

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