One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Roanoke Rapids you can determine when it's a good idea to plant broccoli by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Broccoli

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

Broccoli tend to make it in a little bit of cold which means that you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant broccoli in Roanoke Rapids 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 broccoli and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your broccoli may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your broccoli indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Roanoke Rapids. You should expect an average low temperature of 5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Roanoke Rapids is an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Roanoke Rapids there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to protect your broccoli in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Roanoke Rapids

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

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

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

Plants to Grow in Roanoke Rapids

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Roanoke Rapids.