One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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.

The USDA zone info for Menasha should be used to determine when you can plant artichokes.

Planting Calendar for Artichokes

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

You can plant artichokes a little earlier in the year because they are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant artichokes in Menasha 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 artichokes and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your artichokes may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your artichokes indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Remember that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Menasha and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Menasha there is a last frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your artichokes if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Menasha

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 Menasha

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