Swiss chard · Aguascalientes, Aguascalientes, Mexico

When to plant swiss chard in Aguascalientes

Main outdoor window

22 Jan - 12 Feb

A climate estimate. Check your soil, forecast and cultivar.

Timed from last spring frost

5 February

In Aguascalientes, on your chosen risk.

Ready to pick

13-23 Mar

If you plant at the start of the window.

The average last frost. Half of all years are later than this.

Step by step in Aguascalientes

Download these planting dates (.ics)

Import into Apple Calendar, Google Calendar or Outlook. Dates use the selected risk level and are planning estimates, not frost alerts.

Each window is a planning range. Check the forecast, soil and cultivar before planting; a later date is not automatically safer in hot or wet conditions.

Start indoors

1-22 Jan

Five weeks before your last frost, under cover or on a windowsill.

Sow for overwintering

25 Aug - 15 Sep

Counting back 74 days from your first frost so the crop matures in time.

Sow direct

22 Jan - 12 Feb

Two weeks before your last frost.

Plant out

29 Jan - 19 Feb

One week before your last frost.

Harvest

13-23 Mar

Frost tolerance
Half-hardy
Damaged below
-5°C (23°F)
Days to maturity
50–60
Min soil temp
10°C (50°F)
Spacing
30 cm
Sowing depth
20 mm (0.8 in)
Sun
Partial

Swiss chard through the year

Against the frost risk in Aguascalientes

Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec

Frost risk Start indoors Autumn sowing Sow direct Plant out Harvest Today
Open My Garden

Seasonal context

Rainfall and the growing season in Aguascalientes

July has the highest average precipitation (131 mm); April has the lowest (4 mm). Compare this pattern with the planting windows and your water supply.

Jan 12 mm
Feb 17 mm
Mar 10 mm
Apr 4 mm
May 22 mm
Jun 90 mm
Jul 131 mm
Aug 106 mm
Sep 101 mm
Oct 34 mm
Nov 12 mm
Dec 8 mm

During wetter months, check that beds and containers drain after heavy rain. During drier months, plan how you will keep seeds and new transplants watered. Monthly averages can hide long dry spells and intense storms; they do not show soil moisture, humidity or this week's weather.

Source: NASA POWER, corrected MERRA-2 precipitation, 2001–2020. Values are approximate monthly totals, including the water equivalent of snow, from the nearest 0.5° × 0.625° grid cell. This reference period differs from the temperature record. Rainfall provides context and does not change the calculated planting dates. Method and limitations.

Monthly growing conditions in Aguascalientes

Compare the planting window with the local temperature pattern. These are historical monthly averages, not this year's forecast or measured soil temperatures. Average frost days do not tell you whether a particular night will freeze.

NASA POWER climate averages, 1995–2024
MonthAverage lowAverage highFrost days
January 4.9°C (40.7°F) 20.8°C (69.5°F) 1.3
February 5.8°C (42.5°F) 23.1°C (73.7°F) 0.7
March 7.4°C (45.3°F) 25.8°C (78.5°F) 0.1
April 9.9°C (49.9°F) 28.6°C (83.4°F) 0.0
May 12.7°C (54.9°F) 30.3°C (86.5°F) 0.0
June 14.2°C (57.6°F) 28.9°C (84.1°F) 0.0
July 13.2°C (55.8°F) 27.1°C (80.8°F) 0.0
August 13°C (55.4°F) 27.2°C (81°F) 0.0
September 12.7°C (54.8°F) 26.2°C (79.2°F) 0.0
October 10.5°C (50.9°F) 25.4°C (77.7°F) 0.0
November 7.6°C (45.7°F) 23.3°C (73.9°F) 0.5
December 5.7°C (42.3°F) 21.1°C (70°F) 1.0

For swiss chard, also check drainage, sunlight and cultivar requirements. See the rainfall context above; humidity, irrigation and local pest pressure are not calculated.

Local growing check

Before choosing swiss chard for Aguascalientes

  • July is the wettest month in the rainfall grid, averaging about 131 mm. Check how your own bed drains and plan watering around actual soil moisture; monthly rain totals are not an irrigation schedule.

The temperature and rainfall tables on this page show the underlying climate estimates. How these suitability checks work · Record what happens in your garden.

Before you plant swiss chard

Use the calendar to plan ahead, then check the conditions in your own garden.

  • Measure the soil at sowing depth. Aim for at least 10°C (50°F); the calendar estimates soil warmth from air temperatures and cannot measure your bed.
  • Check the local overnight forecast before planting out. Delay planting or keep protection ready if frost is forecast, even after the historical last-frost date.
  • Harden off plants raised indoors: gradually expose them to outdoor light, wind and temperature before their final move into the bed.
  • Use the maturity range on your seed packet when choosing a variety. Cold, short days and transplant stress can make harvest later than the calendar estimate.

Harvest stems and leaves without exhausting the plant

Sow or plant into fertile, well-drained soil and thin crowded clusters. Space plants for the harvest size you want: baby leaves and large cooking stems are different targets.

Take outer stems cleanly while leaving the growing centre intact. A small repeated harvest lets a healthy plant replace leaves instead of forcing it to recover from complete stripping.

Keep moisture steady and check for leaf damage and flowering stems. When the plant bolts or leaf quality declines, judge whether another sowing is more useful than keeping an old plant indefinitely.

Growing in a container

Chard can be productive in containers. Leave room for individual stems to expand and reach the plant easily without breaking neighbouring leaves.

What to record this season

Which sowing and stem variety gave the longest usable leaf harvest? Add the cultivar, sowing date and conditions to your growing record so you can compare next season.

Further reading: RHS chard growing guide . General crop guidance; local dates on this site are calculated separately. Source checked 19 September 2026 by Safe to Plant; this is not an expert review.

The RHS guide is written for UK growing conditions. Its cultivation advice does not validate the dates calculated for your town.

How the dates are calculated and their limits · Keep a growing record · Report a local discrepancy

Why these dates

Sow or plant into fertile, well-drained soil and thin crowded clusters. Space plants for the harvest size you want: baby leaves and large cooking stems are different targets.

Protect tender growth from frost and wait for suitable growing warmth. The catalog cold-damage figure is a reference, not a guarantee: duration, wind, plant age and acclimatisation affect damage.

This calendar uses frost-relative offsets as a starting point. Swiss chard are timed from 5 weeks before that frost for an indoor start, with planting out 1 weeks before it, and this page simply resolves those offsets against the frost date computed for Aguascalientes.

The median frost-free season here is 296 days, against 50 to 60 days to maturity for this crop counted from sowing. That margin is what decides whether a late sowing is worth attempting.

See every crop timed for Aguascalientes →

Growing swiss chard in Aguascalientes

Can I grow swiss chard in Aguascalientes?

The calendar estimates a planting window, not a guarantee of success. July is the wettest month in the rainfall grid, averaging about 131 mm. Check how your own bed drains and plan watering around actual soil moisture; monthly rain totals are not an irrigation schedule.

When should I plant swiss chard in Aguascalientes?

Aim for 22 Jan - 12 Feb in an average year. If you would rather not gamble on the weather, wait until 18 Feb - 11 Mar - by then frost has finished in nine years out of ten.

When might swiss chard be ready to harvest in Aguascalientes?

The estimated period is 13-23 Mar, based on 50 to 60 days from the modeled planting date. Cultivar, planting material and growing conditions can change this interval; check the plant as well as the calendar.

How much frost will swiss chard tolerate?

Protect tender growth from frost and wait for suitable growing warmth. The catalog cold-damage figure is a reference, not a guarantee: duration, wind, plant age and acclimatisation affect damage.