When to Plant Cucumbers in University Park, IL

One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the 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.

By checking out the USDA zone info for University Park it's possible to figure out when it's the best time to plant cucumbers.


Planting Calendar for Cucumbers

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

Since cucumbers do not do well in cold weather it is necessary to wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

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

The earliest that you can plant cucumbers in University Park 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 cucumbers and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your cucumbers may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your cucumbers indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in University Park. You can expect an average low temperature of 5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for University Park is an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in University Park it frosts late in the year after April 15 so always be ready to cover your cucumbers in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for University Park

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low5°F
Highest Expected Low10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 10°F.

Plants to Grow in University Park

You may be interested in your other planting guides for University Park.