One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Douglas should be read to estimate when it's the best time to plant asparagus.

Planting Calendar for Asparagus

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

Since asparagus are very cold tolerant you can plant them a lot earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant asparagus in Douglas 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 asparagus and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your asparagus may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your asparagus indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on May 15 in Douglas. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -25°F.

Just be sure to 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 Douglas and it is different every year. Since half of the time in Douglas it frosts late in the year after May 15 be ready to protect your asparagus in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Douglas

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 Douglas

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