Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine 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.

You should be able to figure out when it's a good idea to plant onions by reviewing the USDA zone info for Kankakee.

Planting Calendar for Onions

Frost tolerance for onions:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Since onions are very cold tolerant you can plant them earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant onions 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 onions and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your onions may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your onions indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Kankakee. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Kankakee is just an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Kankakee you get a frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your onions in the event of a 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.