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.

In Madison you can determine when it's possible to plant cauliflower by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Cauliflower

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

You can plant cauliflower just a bit earlier in the year because they are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant cauliflower in Madison 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 cauliflower and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your cauliflower may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your cauliflower indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Madison. It might get as low as -5°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Madison is just an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Madison you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your cauliflower if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Madison

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-5°F
Highest Expected Low	0°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 0°F.

Plants to Grow in Madison

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