One of the first steps you take when you are determining 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.

The first chance to plant garden cress in Council Bluffs should be estimated by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Garden cress

Frost tolerance for garden cress:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost has passed.

It's not a good idea to plant garden cress until after the last frost has passed because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant garden cress in Council Bluffs 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 garden cress and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your garden cress may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your garden cress indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Council Bluffs. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Council Bluffs is not always accurate the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Council Bluffs you get a frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your garden cress in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Council Bluffs

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 Council Bluffs

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Council Bluffs.