The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of determining when it's possible to plant watercress is to examine the USDA zone info for Berlin.

Planting Calendar for Watercress

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

Since watercress do ok in moderate cold you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant watercress in Berlin 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 watercress and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your watercress may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your watercress indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Berlin the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as -20°F during the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Berlin and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Berlin there is a last frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your watercress if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Berlin

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-20°F
Highest Expected Low	-15°F

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

Plants to Grow in Berlin

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