One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In New York you can estimate when it's the best time to plant eggplants 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 when the weather gets warmer.

Eggplants require warm weather which tells us that you need to wait until it warms up after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant eggplants in New York 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your eggplants may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your eggplants indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In New York the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You should expect an average low temperature of 5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for New York is just an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in New York it frosts late in the year after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your eggplants if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for New York

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

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

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

Plants to Grow in New York

You may be interested in your other planting guides for New York.