One of the first steps you take when you are determining your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

It's a good idea to estimate when it's the best time to plant broccoli by referring to the USDA zone info for Keokuk.

Planting Calendar for Broccoli

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

You can plant broccoli a bit earlier in the year because they are moderately cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant broccoli in Keokuk 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. If you wait any later than that and your broccoli may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your broccoli indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Keokuk. You should expect an average low temperature of -10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Keokuk and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Keokuk you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your broccoli in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Keokuk

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-10°F
Highest Expected Low	-5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Keokuk

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Keokuk.