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.

In Des Moines you can figure out when it's possible to plant nigella by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Nigella

Frost tolerance for nigella:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Nigella are one of those plants that can tolerate quite a bit of cold weather which means that you can start planting them much earlier than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant nigella in Des Moines 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 nigella and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your nigella may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your nigella indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Des Moines is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Des Moines it frosts late in the year after April 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your nigella in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Des Moines

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 Des Moines

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Des Moines.