One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate 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.

A way of estimating when it's the best time to plant cauliflower is to look at the USDA zone info for Sparta.

Planting Calendar for Cauliflower

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

Cauliflower are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather which tells us that you can plant them earlier than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant cauliflower in Sparta 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 fully mature. If you are starting your cauliflower indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Sparta and it is different every year. Half of the time in Sparta you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your cauliflower if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Sparta

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 Low	0°F
Highest Expected Low	5°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 Sparta

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