One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out 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 reviewing the USDA zone info for Joliet it's a good idea to figure out when you can plant bok choi.

Planting Calendar for Bok Choi

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

You can plant bok choi a bit earlier in the year because they are moderately cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant bok choi in Joliet 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 bok choi and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your bok choi may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your bok choi indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Joliet is just an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Joliet last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to protect your bok choi in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Joliet

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 Joliet

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