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 opportunity to plant cauliflower in West Des Moines can be figured out by reviewing the USDA zone info.

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 other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant cauliflower in West Des Moines 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 all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in West Des Moines. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -20°F.

Since the USDA zone info for West Des Moines is not always accurate the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in West Des Moines it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to cover your cauliflower if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for West Des Moines

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 West Des Moines

You may be interested in your other planting guides for West Des Moines.