One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about 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.

The best time to plant broccoli in Melrose Park can be figured out by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Broccoli

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

Broccoli do ok in mild cold which means that you can plant them a little earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant broccoli in Melrose Park 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 broccoli and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your broccoli may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your broccoli indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Melrose Park. You should expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Melrose Park is just an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Melrose Park you get a frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your broccoli in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Melrose Park

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 Melrose Park

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Melrose Park.