Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

In West Chicago you can determine when it's the best time to plant celery by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Celery

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

Celery do ok in moderate cold which means that you can start planting them slightly earlier than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant celery in West Chicago 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 celery and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your celery may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your celery indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in West Chicago. You should expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for West Chicago is just an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in West Chicago you get a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your celery in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for West Chicago

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 West Chicago

You may be interested in your other planting guides for West Chicago.