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

The first chance to plant cilantro in Benson should be determined by checking out the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Cilantro

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

Since cilantro do ok in moderate cold you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant cilantro in Benson 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 cilantro and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your cilantro may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your cilantro indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Benson. It might get as low as 15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Benson and it changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Benson you get a frost after March 15 be ready to cover your cilantro if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Benson

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°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 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Benson

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