One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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 USDA zone info for North Chicago should be reviewed to figure out when to plant millet.

Planting Calendar for Millet

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

Millet do not do well in cold weather which tells us that it's necessary to wait until it warms up after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant millet 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 millet and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your millet may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your millet indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is 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 is an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in North Chicago there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to protect your millet in the event of a late frost.

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.