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

The USDA zone info for Bloomingdale can be used to figure out when it's possible to plant shallots.

Planting Calendar for Shallots

Frost tolerance for shallots:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Shallots do ok in some cold which tells us that you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant shallots in Bloomingdale is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant shallots and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your shallots may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your shallots indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Bloomingdale. You should expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Bloomingdale may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Bloomingdale you get a frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your shallots if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Bloomingdale

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 Bloomingdale

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