When to Plant Black radish in Clear Lake, IA

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.

The first chance to plant black radish in Clear Lake should be figured out by looking at the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Black radish

Frost tolerance for black radish: Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant: Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Black radish do well in moderate cold which means that you can start planting them earlier than other plants that might not handle the cold.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant black radish
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant black radish
Probably not a good time to plant black radish

The earliest that you can plant black radish in Clear Lake is February. However, you really should wait until March if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant black radish and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your black radish may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your black radish indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Clear Lake the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as -20°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Clear Lake is not always accurate the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Clear Lake you get a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your black radish if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Clear Lake

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 Clear Lake

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Clear Lake.