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.

In Elgin you can determine when it's a good idea to plant asparagus by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Asparagus

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

You can plant asparagus a lot earlier in the year because they are one of those plants that can tolerate quite a bit of cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant asparagus in Elgin 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 asparagus and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your asparagus may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your asparagus indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Elgin. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Elgin is not always accurate the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Elgin last frost occurs after March 15 be ready to cover your asparagus in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Elgin

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°F

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

Plants to Grow in Elgin

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