Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate 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 the best time to plant cauliflower is to look at the USDA zone info for Madison.

Planting Calendar for Cauliflower

Frost tolerance for cauliflower:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

You can plant cauliflower a bit earlier in the year because they do well in moderate cold.

The earliest that you can plant cauliflower in Madison is February. However, you really should wait until March if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant cauliflower and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your cauliflower may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your cauliflower indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Madison. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 10°F.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Madison is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Madison it frosts late in the year after March 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your cauliflower in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Madison

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°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 15°F.

Plants to Grow in Madison

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