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 first opportunity to plant stocks in Ilion should be determined by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Stocks

Frost tolerance for stocks:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Stocks do well in a tiny bit of cold which means that you can plant them slightly earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

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

The last month that you can plant stocks and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your stocks may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your stocks indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Ilion the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -20°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Ilion may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Ilion it frosts late in the year after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your stocks in the event of a 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.