One of the first steps you take when you are determining your gardening schedule is find your 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.

One way of figuring out when it's a good idea to plant millet is to examine the USDA zone info for Geneva.

Planting Calendar for Millet

Frost tolerance for millet:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

You really shouldn't plant millet until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant millet in Geneva is April. However, you really should wait until May if you don't want to take any chances.

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

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Geneva. You can expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Geneva and it is different every year. Since half of the time in Geneva you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your millet in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Geneva

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 Geneva

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