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 getting a good idea when it's a good idea to plant neeps is to look at the USDA zone info for Normal.

Planting Calendar for Neeps

Frost tolerance for neeps:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

Since neeps do not do well in cold weather you must wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant neeps in Normal 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 neeps and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your neeps may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your neeps indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Normal may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Normal it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to cover your neeps if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Normal

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 Normal

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