When to Plant Millet in Columbus, NE

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 Columbus you can figure out when it's the best time to plant millet by referring to the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Millet

Frost tolerance for millet: Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant: After the last frost has passed.

Since millet are not cold tolerant it is important to wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant millet
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant millet
Probably not a good time to plant millet

The earliest that you can plant millet in Columbus 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 millet and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your millet may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your millet indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Columbus is not always accurate the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Columbus it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to cover your millet if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Columbus

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 Columbus

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