Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The best time to plant eggplants in Ilion should be estimated by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Eggplants

Frost tolerance for eggplants:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost.

You really shouldn't plant eggplants until after all chance of frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant eggplants in Ilion 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 eggplants and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your eggplants may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your eggplants indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Ilion. You can expect an average low temperature of -20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Ilion and it changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Ilion last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to protect your eggplants if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Ilion

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-20°F
Highest Expected Low	-15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -15°F.

Plants to Grow in Ilion

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