When to Plant Brussels Sprouts in Swarthmore, PA

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 determine when to plant brussels sprouts by checking out the USDA zone info for Swarthmore.


Planting Calendar for Brussels Sprouts

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

Brussels Sprouts tend to make it in moderate cold which tells us that you can plant them a little bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

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

The earliest that you can plant brussels sprouts in Swarthmore is February. However, you really should wait until March if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant brussels sprouts and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your brussels sprouts may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your brussels sprouts indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Swarthmore. You should expect an average low temperature of 0°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Swarthmore may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Swarthmore you get a frost after April 15 so always be ready to protect your brussels sprouts if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Swarthmore

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low0°F
Highest Expected Low5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 0°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 5°F.

Plants to Grow in Swarthmore

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