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When to plant swiss chard in Austin

How to grow Swiss chardAustin climate
Where are you growing?

Comfortable

Comfortable in greenhouse

Comfortable in a cold frame

Swiss chard in Austin is a good fit outdoors. The suitable growing window of 115 days covers the 55–65 days this plant usually needs.

When to plantFebruary 7 – June 1

Harvest
April 3 – June 1
Season vs crop
115 grow days vs 55–65 needed
Typical frost (last spring – first fall)
February 20 – January 6

Swiss chard in Austin is a good fit outdoors. The suitable growing window of 115 days covers the 55–65 days this plant usually needs.

Planting conditions

Swiss chard planting activities across the year: Direct sow, HarvestJFMAMJJASOND~Feb 20~Jan 6
  • Direct sow
  • Harvest
Local activity windows for this place and growing method. Dashed lines are typical last and first frost.
Suitable growing days in a row115
Days to harvest55–65 days from seed
Feb 7 – Jun 1
Direct sow
Apr 3 – Jun 1
Harvest
ActivityWindowNotes
Direct sowFeb 7 – Jun 1Plant outdoors in this window.
HarvestApr 3 – Jun 1Expected harvest from typical days to harvest.
Based on average frost dates. Adjust a week or two for your conditions.

Planting and growing across the year

Planting is the sow / plant-out window. Growing is daytime air versus this plant’s ideal (59 – 81 °F) and tolerable (39 – 90 °F) ranges.

Swiss chard planting and growing weeks in AustinJANFEBMARAPRMAYJUNJULAUGSEPOCTNOVDECPlantingGrowing
Planting uses sow / plant-out rules (frost, soil germination, night, and last-sow): green when plantable, blue diagonal when nights or soil are too cold, amber cross-hatch when too hot, faint for other calendar limits. Growing shows daytime air against this plant’s ideal and tolerable ranges across the year.

Key dates

Typical last spring frostFebruary 20
Safer last spring frostMarch 7
Typical first fall frostJanuary 6
Safer first fall frostDecember 26
Frost-free days319
Outdoor sow dateFebruary 7
Direct sow windowFebruary 7 – June 1
Suitable growing windowFebruary 7 – June 1 (115 days)
Expected harvestApril 3 – June 1

How these dates are judged

Ideal conditions
Daytime air from 59 – 81 °F.
Suitable conditions
Daytime air from 39 – 90 °F.
Last frost and first frost
Typical spring and fall frost dates for Austin, shown in the key dates.
Days to harvest
55–65 days from seed, from typical days to harvest.
Sowing window
Dated sow and harvest bars use frost dates, soil minima, night limits, and last-sow count-back from typical crop timing. The year strip and weekly chart use the same window: air ratings only colour weeks inside it.

Growing window for Swiss chard: Feb 7 – Jun 1 (115 days)

Planting window for Swiss chard: Feb 7 – Jun 1 (115 days)

Outdoors: weekly temperatures and windows

Temperatures across the year for Austin. Shaded bands are this plant’s ideal and tolerable daytime air ranges. Growing is daytime air suitability; Planting is sow / plant-out conditions (same colour language). Window brackets mark each stretch.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec−20 °C−4 °F−10 °C14 °F0 °C32 °F10 °C50 °F20 °C68 °F30 °C86 °F40 °C104 °FTolerable 4–32 °CTolerable 39–90 °FIdeal 15–27 °CIdeal 59–81 °FWindowGrowingFeb 7 – Jun 1PlantingFeb 7 – Jun 1No typical frost here. Timing follows heat, not frost.
  • Ideal range
  • Tolerable range
  • Possible min to max
  • Average min to max
  • Suitable
  • Tolerable
  • Too cold
  • Too hot

Selected week · tap a week or use the arrows

Week 6 · Feb 2 – Feb 8

Average 46 to 66 °F · Possible 20 to 84 °F

Growing: tolerable

Planting: not sowable

A week is in range when its average low and high sit inside the tolerance band 39 to 90 °F; it is suitable when that average range also overlaps the ideal 59 to 81 °F band and possible readings stay within 39 °F to 90 °F. Crossing a possible limit, or missing the ideal band, makes it tolerable; a possible low below 39 °F makes it tolerable. When a sowing window is calculated, weeks outside that window are uncoloured even if air is in range.

Based on average frost dates.

Show all 53 weeks
Cover method weekly charts

Outdoor weekly chart is above. Open a cover chart only if you grow under fleece, a cold frame, or an unheated greenhouse.

Other plants for Austin

Calculated by Plan & Plant · Method · Data 2019–2026

Frost and suitability dates are typical figures from climate statistics. Microclimates vary; they are not a guarantee.

How we calculated this
  • Data: ERA5-Land via Open-Meteo, cell 30.27, -97.74, years 2019–2026 (not a 30-year climate normal yet).
  • Typical and safer dates: Typical last frost is the date after which half of winters in this sample had no more frost; safer is later in the sample so fewer winters still frosted.
  • Crop rule: Local windows for Swiss chard from frost dates, temperature ratings, and crop timing rules.
  • Confidence: Provisional — short or thin sample for this place.
  • Full methodology (algorithm 2026-10-season-6).

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