The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of getting a good idea when it's a good idea to plant black radish is to look at the USDA zone info for Sparta.

Planting Calendar for Black radish

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

You can plant black radish a bit earlier in the year because they are moderately cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant black radish in Sparta 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 black radish and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your black radish may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your black radish 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 Sparta. It might get as low as -25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Sparta is an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Sparta there is a last frost after May 15 be ready to cover your black radish if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Sparta

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-25°F
Highest Expected Low	-20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -20°F.

Plants to Grow in Sparta

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