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When to Plant Brussels Sprouts in Ottumwa, IA

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

In Ottumwa you can determine when it's possible to plant brussels sprouts by checking out the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Brussels Sprouts

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

Brussels Sprouts are moderately cold tolerant which tells us that you can get them planted earlier than other frost tender plants.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant brussels sprouts
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant brussels sprouts
Probably not a good time to plant brussels sprouts

The earliest that you can plant brussels sprouts in Ottumwa 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 brussels sprouts and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your brussels sprouts may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your brussels sprouts 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 Ottumwa. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -15°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 Ottumwa and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Ottumwa you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your brussels sprouts in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Ottumwa

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 Ottumwa

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