One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the 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.

It's possible to estimate when it's a good idea to plant cauliflower by looking at the USDA zone info for Rapid City.

Planting Calendar for Cauliflower

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

Cauliflower can survive in moderate cold which means that you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant cauliflower in Rapid City 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 cauliflower and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your cauliflower may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your cauliflower indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Rapid City. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -20°F.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Rapid City is just an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Rapid City last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to cover your cauliflower in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Rapid City

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-20°F
Highest Expected Low	-15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -15°F.

Plants to Grow in Rapid City

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Rapid City.