One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of estimating when to plant chard is to check out the USDA zone info for Port Orchard.

Planting Calendar for Chard

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

You can plant chard a little bit earlier in the year because they are moderately cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant chard in Port Orchard 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 chard and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your chard may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your chard indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Port Orchard may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Port Orchard last frost occurs after March 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your chard if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Port Orchard

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Port Orchard

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Port Orchard.