One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out 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.

In East Chicago you can figure out when it's the best time to plant corn by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Corn

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

Corn are not cold tolerant which means that you really should wait until it warms up after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant corn in East Chicago 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 corn and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your corn may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your corn indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in East Chicago. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for East Chicago may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in East Chicago there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to protect your corn in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for East Chicago

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 East Chicago

You may be interested in your other planting guides for East Chicago.