One of the first steps you take when you are estimating your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The first opportunity to plant strawberries in Brookings can be figured out by checking out the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Strawberries

Frost tolerance for strawberries:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Strawberries are very cold tolerant which tells us that you can start planting them much earlier than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant strawberries in Brookings 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 strawberries and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your strawberries may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your strawberries indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is May 15 in Brookings. You should expect an average low temperature of -25°F in the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Brookings and it is different every year. Since half of the time in Brookings you get surprised by a frost after May 15 be ready to protect your strawberries in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Brookings

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 Brookings

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