One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out 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.

The best time to plant broccoli in Fort Madison should be figured out by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Broccoli

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

Since broccoli are moderately cold tolerant you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

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

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Fort Madison. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Remember that USDA zone info for Fort Madison is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Fort Madison it frosts late in the year after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your broccoli in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Fort Madison

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 Fort Madison

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Fort Madison.