One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate 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 first chance to plant endive in Iowa Falls should be figured out by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Endive

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

Since endive are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant endive in Iowa Falls 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 endive and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your endive may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your endive indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Iowa Falls the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You should expect an average low temperature of -20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Iowa Falls is an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Iowa Falls it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to cover your endive if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Iowa Falls

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 Iowa Falls

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Iowa Falls.