One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

You can determine when it's possible to plant eggplants in Portage by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Eggplants

Frost tolerance for eggplants:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost.

It's probably not a good idea to plant eggplants until after all chance of frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

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

The last month that you can plant eggplants and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your eggplants may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your eggplants indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Portage may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Portage it frosts late in the year after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your eggplants in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Portage

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 Portage

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