Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The best time to plant eggplants in Lima should be figured out by checking out 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.

It's a bad idea to plant eggplants until after all chance of frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant eggplants in Lima 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 fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your eggplants indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Lima. It might get as low as -10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Lima is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Lima last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to protect your eggplants in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Lima

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 Lima

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