When to Plant Broccoli in Watertown, NY

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

It's possible to figure out when to plant broccoli by checking out the USDA zone info for Watertown.


Planting Calendar for Broccoli

Frost tolerance for broccoli: Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant: Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Since broccoli are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant broccoli
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant broccoli
Probably not a good time to plant broccoli

The earliest that you can plant broccoli in Watertown 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 broccoli and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your broccoli may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your broccoli indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Watertown the average date of last frost happens on May 15. It might get as low as -25°F during the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Watertown and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Watertown you get a frost after May 15 be ready to protect your broccoli in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Watertown

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)September 15
Lowest Expected Low-25°F
Highest Expected Low-20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -20°F.

Plants to Grow in Watertown

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