One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Iowa City you can figure out when you can plant broccoli by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Broccoli

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

Broccoli can survive in moderate cold which means that you can plant them a little bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant broccoli in Iowa City is February. However, you really should wait until March if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant broccoli and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your broccoli may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your broccoli indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Iowa City. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Remember that USDA zone info for Iowa City is just an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Iowa City it frosts late in the year after April 15 so always be ready to cover your broccoli in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Iowa City

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-15°F
Highest Expected Low	-10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Iowa City

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Iowa City.