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.

By reviewing the USDA zone info for Crystal Lake it's a good idea to estimate when it's the best time to plant asparagus.

Planting Calendar for Asparagus

Frost tolerance for asparagus:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

You can plant asparagus much earlier in the year because they are one of those plants that can tolerate quite a bit of cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant asparagus in Crystal Lake 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 asparagus and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your asparagus may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your asparagus indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Crystal Lake. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Crystal Lake is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Crystal Lake last frost occurs after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your asparagus in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Crystal Lake

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 Crystal Lake

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Crystal Lake.