One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By looking at the USDA zone info for Cedar Rapids you should be able to determine when to plant stocks.

Planting Calendar for Stocks

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

Stocks can survive in very little cold which tells us that you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant stocks in Cedar Rapids 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 stocks and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your stocks may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your stocks indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Cedar Rapids. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -20°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Cedar Rapids is not always accurate the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Cedar Rapids you get a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your stocks in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Cedar Rapids

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-20°F
Highest Expected Low	-15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -15°F.

Plants to Grow in Cedar Rapids

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Cedar Rapids.