Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of estimating when it's a good idea to plant pearl onions is to use the USDA zone info for Gary.

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.

Pearl onions can survive in mild cold which means that you can plant them just a tiny bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant pearl onions in Gary 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. If you wait any later than that and your pearl onions may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your pearl onions indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Gary may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Gary it frosts late in the year after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your pearl onions in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Gary

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 Gary

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