One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Merrill should be reffered to in order to determine when it's the best time to plant neeps.

Planting Calendar for Neeps

Frost tolerance for neeps:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

You can not plant neeps until after all chance of frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

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

The last month that you can plant neeps and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your neeps may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your neeps 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. You can expect an average low temperature of -30°F in the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Merrill is an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Merrill last frost occurs after May 15 so always be ready to cover your neeps in the event of one of those late frosts.

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.