One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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.

In Lisle you can estimate when it's the best time to plant garlic by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Garlic

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

Garlic do well in cold which tells us that you can start planting them much earlier than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant garlic in Lisle 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 garlic and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your garlic may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your garlic indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Lisle the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Lisle is an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Lisle there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to protect your garlic if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Lisle

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 Lisle

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