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.

In Urbana you can determine when it's possible 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 all chance of frost has passed.

Eggplants do not do well in cold weather which means that you really should wait until it warms up after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant eggplants in Urbana 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. If you wait any later than that and your eggplants may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your eggplants indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Urbana the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You can expect an average low temperature of -10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Urbana may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Urbana last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to cover your eggplants if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Urbana

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 Urbana

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