When to Plant Sweet corn in Zone 3b

One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate 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 Zone 3b can be read to estimate when it's the best time to plant sweet corn.


Planting Calendar for Sweet corn

Frost tolerance for sweet corn: Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant: Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

You can plant sweet corn slightly earlier in the year because they do ok in moderate cold.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant sweet corn
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant sweet corn
Probably not a good time to plant sweet corn

The earliest that you can plant sweet corn in Zone 3b is April. However, you really should wait until May if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant sweet corn and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your sweet corn may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your sweet corn indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Zone 3b the average date of last frost happens on May 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -35°F.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Zone 3b and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Zone 3b last frost occurs after May 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your sweet corn in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Zone 3b

Here is the info for USDA Zone 3b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)September 15
Lowest Expected Low-35°F
Highest Expected Low-30°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -35°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -30°F.

Plants to Grow in Zone 3b

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Zone 3b.