When to Plant Kohlrabi in Evanston, IL

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of making a decision about when you can plant kohlrabi is to check out the USDA zone info for Evanston.


Planting Calendar for Kohlrabi

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

Kohlrabi are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather which tells us that you can get them planted earlier than more sensitive plants.

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

The earliest that you can plant kohlrabi in Evanston 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 kohlrabi and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your kohlrabi may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your kohlrabi indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Evanston is not always accurate the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Evanston last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to cover your kohlrabi in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Evanston

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 Evanston

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Evanston.