The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of getting a good idea when it's possible to plant cucumbers is to examine the USDA zone info for Champaign.

Planting Calendar for Cucumbers

Frost tolerance for cucumbers:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

You should not plant cucumbers until after the last frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

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

The last month that you can plant cucumbers and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your cucumbers may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your cucumbers indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Champaign may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Champaign there is a last frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your cucumbers if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Champaign

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 Champaign

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