Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out 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 figuring out when it's a good idea to plant endive is to refer to the USDA zone info for Kankakee.

Planting Calendar for Endive

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

Endive do well in mild cold which tells us that you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant endive in Kankakee 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 endive and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your endive may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your endive indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Kankakee. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Kankakee is an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Kankakee you get a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your endive in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Kankakee

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 Kankakee

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