One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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.

You should be able to estimate when it's possible to plant cilantro by referring to the USDA zone info for Ithaca.

Planting Calendar for Cilantro

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

Cilantro are one of those plants that can tolerate a tiny bit of cold weather which means that you can start planting them slightly earlier than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant cilantro in Ithaca 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 cilantro and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your cilantro may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your cilantro indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Ithaca. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -10°F.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Ithaca is just an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Ithaca you get a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your cilantro if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Ithaca

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

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

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

Plants to Grow in Ithaca

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