One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about 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.

A way of making a decision about when to plant strawberries is to check out the USDA zone info for Ephrata.

Planting Calendar for Strawberries

Frost tolerance for strawberries:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Strawberries tend to make it in a bit of cold which means that you can plant them much earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant strawberries in Ephrata 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 strawberries and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your strawberries may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your strawberries indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Ephrata the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -5°F.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Ephrata and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Ephrata there is a last frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your strawberries in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Ephrata

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 Ephrata

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