One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea 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.

It's a good idea to estimate when to plant eggplants by using the USDA zone info for Mchenry.

Planting Calendar for Eggplants

Frost tolerance for eggplants:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost has passed.

You can not plant eggplants until after the last frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant eggplants in Mchenry is April. However, you really should wait until May if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant eggplants and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your eggplants may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your eggplants indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Mchenry. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Mchenry is just an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Mchenry you get a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your eggplants if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Mchenry

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 Mchenry

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