When to Plant Garlic in Paxton, IL

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The first chance to plant garlic in Paxton should be determined by reviewing the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Garlic

Frost tolerance for garlic: Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant: Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Since garlic are one of those plants that can tolerate quite a bit of cold weather you can plant them a lot earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

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

The earliest that you can plant garlic in Paxton 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 garlic and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your garlic may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your garlic 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 Paxton. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Paxton is just an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Paxton you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your garlic if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Paxton

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 Paxton

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