When to Plant Black radish in Sterling, IL

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 black radish in Sterling should be determined by using the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Black radish

Frost tolerance for black radish: Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant: Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

You can plant black radish a little earlier in the year because they do well in moderate cold.

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

The earliest that you can plant black radish in Sterling 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 black radish and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your black radish may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your black radish 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 Sterling. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Sterling is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Sterling you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your black radish if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Sterling

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 Sterling

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