One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A common way of estimating when it's a good idea to plant beets is to refer to the USDA zone info for Essex Junction.

Planting Calendar for Beets

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

Beets do well in moderate cold which tells us that you can get them planted earlier than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant beets in Essex Junction 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 beets and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your beets may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your beets indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Essex Junction the average date of last frost happens on May 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -25°F.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Essex Junction is an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Essex Junction you get a frost after May 15 so always be ready to protect your beets if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Essex Junction

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-25°F
Highest Expected Low	-20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -20°F.

Plants to Grow in Essex Junction

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Essex Junction.