One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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.

In Rice Lake you can determine when you can plant painted tongues by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Painted Tongues

Frost tolerance for painted tongues:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost has passed.

It's a bad idea to plant painted tongues until after the last frost has passed because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant painted tongues in Rice Lake 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 painted tongues and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your painted tongues may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your painted tongues 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 Rice Lake. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -30°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Rice Lake is not always accurate the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Rice Lake last frost occurs after May 15 be ready to cover your painted tongues if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Rice Lake

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 Rice Lake

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Rice Lake.