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

In Des Plaines you can determine when it's possible to plant red cabbage by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Red cabbage

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

Red cabbage can survive in a bit of cold which tells us that you can plant them quite a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant red cabbage in Des Plaines 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 red cabbage and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your red cabbage may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your red cabbage indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Des Plaines the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Des Plaines is an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Des Plaines you get a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your red cabbage in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Des Plaines

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 Des Plaines

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