One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate 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.

It's a good idea to determine when it's possible to plant neeps by reviewing the USDA zone info for Ilion.

Planting Calendar for Neeps

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

You really shouldn't plant neeps until after the last frost because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant neeps 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 neeps and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your neeps may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your neeps indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Ilion may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Ilion you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your neeps if you have one of those late frosts.

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.