Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

You will be able to estimate when it's the best time to plant bittercress by checking out the USDA zone info for Altoona.

Planting Calendar for Bittercress

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

You can plant bittercress just a tiny bit earlier in the year because they do ok in moderate cold.

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

The last month that you can plant bittercress and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your bittercress may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your bittercress indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is May 15 in Altoona. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -25°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Altoona is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Altoona you get surprised by a frost after May 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your bittercress in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Altoona

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 Altoona

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