Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. 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 shallots in Western Springs can be determined by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Shallots

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

Shallots do ok in moderate cold which means that you can start planting them slightly earlier than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant shallots in Western Springs 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 shallots and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your shallots may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your shallots indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Western Springs is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Western Springs you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your shallots in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Western Springs

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 Western Springs

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Western Springs.