One of the first steps you take when you are estimating your gardening schedule is find your 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 Chicago Ridge should be looked at to estimate when it's possible to plant beets.

Planting Calendar for Beets

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

Beets tend to make it in some cold which tells us that you can plant them a little bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant beets in Chicago Ridge 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 beets and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your beets may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your beets indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Chicago Ridge the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You should expect an average low temperature of -10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Chicago Ridge is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Chicago Ridge you get a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your beets if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Chicago Ridge

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-10°F
Highest Expected Low	-5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Chicago Ridge

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Chicago Ridge.