Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

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

Planting Calendar for Eggplants

Frost tolerance for eggplants:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

Since eggplants require warm weather you must wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant eggplants in Smithfield is April. However, you really should wait until May if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant eggplants and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your eggplants may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your eggplants indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Smithfield. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Smithfield is just an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Smithfield you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your eggplants in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Smithfield

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-15°F
Highest Expected Low	-10°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 -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Smithfield

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