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 first chance to plant millet in Ankeny should be estimated by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Millet

Frost tolerance for millet:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

Millet require warm weather which means that you have to wait until it warms up after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant millet in Ankeny 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 millet and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your millet may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your millet indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Ankeny. You should expect an average low temperature of -20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Ankeny may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Ankeny you get a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your millet if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Ankeny

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-20°F
Highest Expected Low	-15°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 -15°F.

Plants to Grow in Ankeny

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Ankeny.