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.

One way of getting a good idea when to plant broccoli is to refer to the USDA zone info for Charles Town.

Planting Calendar for Broccoli

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

Since broccoli do well in moderate cold you can plant them a little earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant broccoli in Charles Town 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 broccoli and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your broccoli may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your broccoli indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Charles Town. It might get as low as -5°F during the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Charles Town and it is different every year. Half of the time in Charles Town there is a last frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your broccoli in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Charles Town

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-5°F
Highest Expected Low	0°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 0°F.

Plants to Grow in Charles Town

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Charles Town.