When to plant Swiss chard in Iowa, United States
Swiss chard can be planted after April 27, when air temperature is consistently in a range between 20°F and 80°F and soil temperature is above 45°F.
Growing Swiss chard in Iowa
Days suitable for growing Swiss chard in Iowa
On average Swiss chard needs from 50 to 60 days to mature and produce harvest.
It could prove difficult to start growing Swiss chard in Iowa, when planting directly into soil, due to short growing period suitable for growing Swiss chard.
In order to have a chance of getting any harvest, all available season extention methods should be utilised.
Start seeds indoors
Iowa has 2 distinct seasons for growing Swiss chard
In order to get plants ready for April 27 seeds should be started indoors bwetween March 16 and April 03
Seeds started after April 03 are not likely to mature and produce harvest.
This Swiss chard growing season in Iowa is quite short, with only 37 days suitable for growth so it is really important to time your planting activities, and choose varieties with shorter time to harvest requirements.
In order to get plants ready for September 21 seeds should be started indoors bwetween August 10 and August 17
Seeds started after August 17 are not likely to mature and produce harvest.
This Swiss chard growing season in Iowa is quite short, with only 26 days suitable for growth so it is really important to time your planting activities, and choose varieties with shorter time to harvest requirements.
Use a cold frame
When using a cold frame in a beggining of growing season You can protect young plants from possible temperature drops, this way growing season can start up to 2 weeks earlier.
Use an additional shading
On days, when air temperatures are expected to raise above 80°F, which is in top of tolerable range for Swiss chard, consider using additional shading to prevent heat shock.
| Total frost free days | 172 |
| Last frost expected date | April 28 |
| First frost expected date | October 17 |
| Dates with ideal conditions | May 11 to May 12 (2 days) May 14 to May 15 (2 days) May 17 to May 23 (7 days) May 26 May 28 September 22 to September 23 (2 days) September 29 October 02 to October 06 (5 days) October 09 to October 11 (3 days) |
| Dates with suitable conditions | April 07 to April 08 (2 days) April 23 April 25 April 27 to June 02 (37 days) June 11 to June 12 (2 days) June 26 September 10 to September 15 (6 days) September 17 September 19 September 21 to October 16 (26 days) October 18 to October 26 (9 days) November 06 November 08 to November 10 (3 days) |
| Total days ideal for growing Swiss chard in Iowa | 24 |
| Total days suitable for growing Swiss chard in Iowa | 91 |
| Days needed for Swiss chard to mature and produce harvest | 50 - 60 |
| Seed can be planted directly into soil | no |
| Seed has to be started indoors | yes |
Notable temperature facts for growing Swiss chard in Iowa
Table with days suitable to grow vegetables in Iowa
Tolerable temperature range for Swiss chard: 20°F to 80°F
| Week | Average temperature | Possible min and max temperature | Suitable for Swiss chard | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | January 01 - January 03 | 16°F to 33°F | -6°F to 48°F | |
| 2 | January 04 - January 10 | 20°F to 35°F | -7°F to 52°F | TRUE |
| 3 | January 11 - January 17 | 22°F to 35°F | -4°F to 50°F | TRUE |
| 4 | January 18 - January 24 | 12°F to 27°F | -17°F to 40°F | |
| 5 | January 25 - January 31 | 8°F to 23°F | -27°F to 40°F | |
| 6 | February 01 - February 07 | 13°F to 31°F | -18°F to 49°F | |
| 7 | February 08 - February 14 | 11°F to 28°F | -16°F to 51°F | |
| 8 | February 15 - February 21 | 11°F to 32°F | -19°F to 57°F | |
| 9 | February 22 - February 28 | 18°F to 36°F | -6°F to 58°F | |
| 10 | March 01 - March 07 | 23°F to 44°F | -11°F to 63°F | TRUE |
| 11 | March 08 - March 14 | 30°F to 47°F | 7°F to 69°F | TRUE |
| 12 | March 15 - March 21 | 30°F to 50°F | 9°F to 69°F | TRUE |
| 13 | March 22 - March 28 | 34°F to 51°F | 21°F to 67°F | TRUE |
| 14 | March 29 - April 04 | 35°F to 56°F | 22°F to 77°F | TRUE |
| 15 | April 05 - April 11 | 41°F to 62°F | 23°F to 76°F | TRUE |
| 16 | April 12 - April 18 | 36°F to 56°F | 21°F to 79°F | TRUE |
| 17 | April 19 - April 25 | 41°F to 61°F | 25°F to 78°F | TRUE |
| 18 | April 26 - May 02 | 45°F to 65°F | 28°F to 84°F | TRUE |
| 19 | May 03 - May 09 | 47°F to 66°F | 37°F to 86°F | TRUE |
| 20 | May 10 - May 16 | 51°F to 70°F | 33°F to 89°F | TRUE |
| 21 | May 17 - May 23 | 54°F to 71°F | 41°F to 84°F | TRUE |
| 22 | May 24 - May 30 | 57°F to 75°F | 40°F to 87°F | TRUE |
| 23 | May 31 - June 06 | 61°F to 80°F | 49°F to 89°F | TRUE |
| 24 | June 07 - June 13 | 62°F to 81°F | 49°F to 92°F | |
| 25 | June 14 - June 20 | 64°F to 84°F | 57°F to 97°F | |
| 26 | June 21 - June 27 | 65°F to 82°F | 52°F to 92°F | |
| 27 | June 28 - July 04 | 68°F to 85°F | 61°F to 92°F | |
| 28 | July 05 - July 11 | 67°F to 83°F | 55°F to 93°F | |
| 29 | July 12 - July 18 | 66°F to 84°F | 58°F to 93°F | |
| 30 | July 19 - July 25 | 68°F to 85°F | 58°F to 95°F | |
| 31 | July 26 - August 01 | 68°F to 85°F | 59°F to 95°F | |
| 32 | August 02 - August 08 | 66°F to 83°F | 55°F to 95°F | |
| 33 | August 09 - August 15 | 66°F to 83°F | 56°F to 90°F | |
| 34 | August 16 - August 22 | 65°F to 83°F | 56°F to 94°F | |
| 35 | August 23 - August 29 | 68°F to 85°F | 57°F to 98°F | |
| 36 | August 30 - September 05 | 63°F to 81°F | 54°F to 94°F | |
| 37 | September 06 - September 12 | 61°F to 78°F | 47°F to 91°F | TRUE |
| 38 | September 13 - September 19 | 60°F to 79°F | 48°F to 87°F | TRUE |
| 39 | September 20 - September 26 | 58°F to 76°F | 47°F to 92°F | TRUE |
| 40 | September 27 - October 03 | 58°F to 75°F | 40°F to 89°F | TRUE |
| 41 | October 04 - October 10 | 51°F to 69°F | 36°F to 83°F | TRUE |
| 42 | October 11 - October 17 | 45°F to 62°F | 32°F to 79°F | TRUE |
| 43 | October 18 - October 24 | 44°F to 61°F | 26°F to 80°F | TRUE |
| 44 | October 25 - October 31 | 36°F to 50°F | 23°F to 69°F | TRUE |
| 45 | November 01 - November 07 | 37°F to 56°F | 17°F to 73°F | TRUE |
| 46 | November 08 - November 14 | 34°F to 50°F | 6°F to 71°F | TRUE |
| 47 | November 15 - November 21 | 32°F to 49°F | 16°F to 65°F | TRUE |
| 48 | November 22 - November 28 | 28°F to 44°F | 14°F to 56°F | TRUE |
| 49 | November 29 - December 05 | 28°F to 44°F | 15°F to 58°F | TRUE |
| 50 | December 06 - December 12 | 26°F to 41°F | 12°F to 57°F | TRUE |
| 51 | December 13 - December 19 | 23°F to 37°F | 6°F to 69°F | TRUE |
| 52 | December 20 - December 26 | 22°F to 38°F | -14°F to 55°F | TRUE |
| 53 | December 27 - December 31 | 23°F to 37°F | -5°F to 53°F | TRUE |
Days with suitable temperature for growing Swiss chard in Iowa
For more precise weather statisctics and planting information, please select a County in Iowa.
Adair County
Adams County
Allamakee County
Appanoose County
Audubon County
Benton County
Black Hawk County
Boone County
Bremer County
Buchanan County
Buena Vista County
Butler County
Calhoun County
Carroll County
Cass County
Cedar County
Cerro Gordo County
Cherokee County
Chickasaw County
Clarke County
Clay County
Clayton County
Clinton County
Crawford County
Dallas County
Davis County
Decatur County
Delaware County
Des Moines County
Dickinson County
Dubuque County
Emmet County
Fayette County
Floyd County
Franklin County
Fremont County
Greene County
Grundy County
Guthrie County
Hamilton County
Hancock County
Hardin County
Harrison County
Henry County
Howard County
Humboldt County
Ida County
Iowa County
Jackson County
Jasper County
Jefferson County
Johnson County
Jones County
Keokuk County
Kossuth County
Lee County
Linn County
Louisa County
Lucas County
Lyon County
Madison County
Mahaska County
Marion County
Marshall County
Mills County
Mitchell County
Monona County
Monroe County
Montgomery County
Muscatine County
O'Brien County
Osceola County
Page County
Palo Alto County
Plymouth County
Pocahontas County
Polk County
Pottawattamie County
Poweshiek County
Ringgold County
Sac County
Scott County
Shelby County
Sioux County
Story County
Tama County
Taylor County
Union County
Van Buren County
Wapello County
Warren County
Washington County
Wayne County
Webster County
Winnebago County
Winneshiek County
Woodbury County
Worth County
Wright County
All data is provided “as is” without warranty or any representation of accuracy, timeliness or completeness.
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Average daily temperatures were calculated using
