The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A common way of figuring out when to plant chard is to consult the USDA zone info for Zone 13a.

Planting Calendar for Chard

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

Chard can survive in a little bit of cold which means that you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant chard in Zone 13a is January. However, you really should wait until February if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant chard and expect a good harvest is probably November. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your chard may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your chard indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Zone 13a it never frosts. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 60°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Zone 13a may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since it never frosts in Zone 13a you do not have to be ready to protect your chard if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Zone 13a

Here is the info for USDA Zone 13a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	Never
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	Never
Lowest Expected Low	60°F
Highest Expected Low	65°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 60°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 65°F.

Plants to Grow in Zone 13a

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Zone 13a.