Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of figuring out when it's a good idea to plant corn is to check out the USDA zone info for Maquoketa.

Planting Calendar for Corn

Frost tolerance for corn:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

It's a bad idea to plant corn until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant corn in Maquoketa 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 corn and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your corn may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your corn indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Maquoketa. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -20°F.

Remember that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Maquoketa and it is different every year. Half of the time in Maquoketa there is a last frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your corn in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Maquoketa

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 Maquoketa

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