When to Plant Beets in Machesney Park, IL

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.

The USDA zone info for Machesney Park should be looked at to determine when it's possible to plant beets.

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Planting Calendar for Beets

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

Since beets are moderately cold tolerant you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

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

The earliest that you can plant beets in Machesney Park 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 beets and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your beets may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your beets indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Machesney Park. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Machesney Park 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 Machesney Park there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to protect your beets if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Machesney Park

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 Machesney Park

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Machesney Park.