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.

You should be able to estimate when it's possible to plant pearl onions by reviewing the USDA zone info for Bloomington.

Planting Calendar for Pearl onions

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

Since pearl onions do ok in moderate cold you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant pearl onions in Bloomington 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 pearl onions and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your pearl onions may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your pearl onions indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Bloomington the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -10°F.

Remember that USDA zone info for Bloomington is an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Bloomington it frosts late in the year after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your pearl onions in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Bloomington

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-10°F
Highest Expected Low	-5°F

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

Plants to Grow in Bloomington

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