One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about 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 stocks in South Elgin can be estimated by checking out the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Stocks

Frost tolerance for stocks:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Stocks can survive in mild cold which tells us that you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant stocks in South Elgin is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant stocks and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your stocks may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your stocks indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for South Elgin is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in South Elgin there is a last frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your stocks in the event of a 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.