When to Plant Cauliflower in Frankfort, IL

One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of getting a good idea when it's a good idea to plant cauliflower is to consult the USDA zone info for Frankfort.


Planting Calendar for Cauliflower

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

Since cauliflower do well in moderate cold you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

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

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

Last Frost Date

In Frankfort 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.

Remember 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 Frankfort and it is different every year. Half of the time in Frankfort it frosts late in the year after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your cauliflower if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Frankfort

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 Frankfort

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