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.

By looking at the USDA zone info for Downers Grove you will be able to figure out when it's the best time to plant cabbage.

Planting Calendar for Cabbage

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

You can plant cabbage just a bit earlier in the year because they are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant cabbage 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 cabbage and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your cabbage may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your cabbage indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Downers Grove. You should expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Downers Grove is just an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Downers Grove it frosts late in the year after April 15 so always be ready to protect your cabbage if you have a late frost.

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.