Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out 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.

The USDA zone info for North Chicago should be reviewed to estimate when it's a good idea to plant garden cress.

Planting Calendar for Garden cress

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

You really shouldn't plant garden cress until after all chance of frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant garden cress in North Chicago 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 garden cress and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your garden cress may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your garden cress indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for North Chicago may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in North Chicago last frost occurs after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your garden cress in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for North Chicago

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 North Chicago

You may be interested in your other planting guides for North Chicago.