When to Plant Black radish in Downers Grove, IL

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.

The first opportunity to plant black radish in Downers Grove can be figured out by looking at the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Black radish

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

Black radish do well in moderate cold which means that you can plant them a little bit earlier than more sensitive plants.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant black radish
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant black radish
Probably not a good time to plant black radish

The earliest that you can plant black radish in Downers Grove 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 black radish and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your black radish may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your black radish indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Downers Grove. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Downers Grove and it is different every year. Since half of the time in Downers Grove last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to cover your black radish in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Downers Grove

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 Downers Grove

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Downers Grove.