When to Plant Stocks in Norwalk, IA

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

A common way of figuring out when it's possible to plant stocks is to use the USDA zone info for Norwalk.


Planting Calendar for Stocks

Frost tolerance for stocks: Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant: Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Stocks are one of those plants that can tolerate a tiny bit of cold weather which means that you can get them planted just a bit earlier than more sensitive plants.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant stocks
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant stocks
Probably not a good time to plant stocks

The earliest that you can plant stocks in Norwalk is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant stocks and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your stocks may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your stocks indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Remember that USDA zone info for Norwalk is just an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Norwalk it frosts late in the year after April 15 so always be ready to protect your stocks if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Norwalk

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 Norwalk

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