When to Plant Millet in South Elgin, IL

One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea 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.

The earliest that you can plant millet in South Elgin should be estimated by referring to the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Millet

Frost tolerance for millet: Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant: After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

You can not plant millet until after all chance of frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

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

The earliest that you can plant millet in South Elgin 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 fully mature. Starting your millet indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in South Elgin. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for South Elgin may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in South Elgin last frost occurs after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your millet in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for South Elgin

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 South Elgin

You may be interested in your other planting guides for South Elgin.