When to Plant Broccoli in Spirit Lake, IA

One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The first chance to plant broccoli in Spirit Lake should be figured out by reviewing 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.

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

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

The earliest that you can plant broccoli in Spirit Lake 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your broccoli may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your broccoli indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Spirit Lake. You can expect an average low temperature of -20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Spirit Lake is an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Spirit Lake you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your broccoli if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Spirit Lake

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 Spirit Lake

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Spirit Lake.