When to Plant Brussels Sprouts in Niles, IL

One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of estimating when it's the best time to plant brussels sprouts is to refer to the USDA zone info for Niles.


Planting Calendar for Brussels Sprouts

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

Since brussels sprouts are moderately cold tolerant you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant brussels sprouts
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant brussels sprouts
Probably not a good time to plant brussels sprouts

The earliest that you can plant brussels sprouts in Niles 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 brussels sprouts and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your brussels sprouts may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your brussels sprouts indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Niles the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -10°F.

Remember that USDA zone info for Niles is an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Niles it frosts late in the year after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your brussels sprouts if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Niles

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-10°F
Highest Expected Low-5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Niles

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