One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about your gardening schedule is find your 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.

By looking at the USDA zone info for Waterloo you should be able to estimate when you can plant cauliflower.

Planting Calendar for Cauliflower

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

Cauliflower can survive in mild cold which tells us that you can plant them a little bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant cauliflower in Waterloo 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 cauliflower and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your cauliflower may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your cauliflower indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Waterloo. It might get as low as -20°F during the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Waterloo is an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Waterloo it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to cover your cauliflower in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Waterloo

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 Waterloo

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