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 best time to plant chard in Zone 9a can be determined by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Chard

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

Chard are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather which means that you can plant them earlier than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant chard in Zone 9a 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 October. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your chard may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your chard indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Zone 9a the average date of last frost happens on February 15. It might get as low as 20°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Zone 9a is not always accurate the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Zone 9a there is a last frost after February 15 be ready to cover your chard in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Zone 9a

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	20°F
Highest Expected Low	25°F

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

Plants to Grow in Zone 9a

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Zone 9a.