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

You can determine when it's a good idea to plant chives in Merrill by checking out the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Chives

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

Chives tend to make it in cold weather which means that you can plant them much earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant chives in Merrill 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 chives and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your chives may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your chives indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is May 15 in Merrill. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -30°F.

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 Merrill and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Merrill you get surprised by a frost after May 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your chives in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Merrill

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-30°F
Highest Expected Low	-25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -30°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -25°F.

Plants to Grow in Merrill

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