One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the 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.

A common way of figuring out when to plant eggplants is to look at the USDA zone info for Lonoke.

Planting Calendar for Eggplants

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

Since eggplants require warm weather it is important to wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant eggplants in Lonoke 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 grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your eggplants indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Lonoke. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 10°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Lonoke is just an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Lonoke you get surprised by a frost after March 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your eggplants if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Lonoke

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°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 15°F.

Plants to Grow in Lonoke

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