When to Plant Shallots in Olney, IL

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of getting a good idea when it's possible to plant shallots is to examine the USDA zone info for Olney.

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Planting Calendar for Shallots

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

Since shallots are barely cold tolerant you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

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

The earliest that you can plant shallots in Olney 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 shallots and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your shallots may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your shallots indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Olney the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as -10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Olney is not always accurate the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Olney last frost occurs after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your shallots if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Olney

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-10°F
Highest Expected Low-5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Olney

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