Planting Date FinderZone, frost date, planting window

When to plant / Illinois

When to plant spinach in Illinois

The planting chart is divided into Northern Illinois, Central Illinois, and Southern Illinois. Median dates for the last 32-degree freeze on the same page: Northern Illinois April 8-29; Central Illinois April 8-15; Southern Illinois April 1-8. The page also says southern Illinois can generally start crops two weeks earlier than central Illinois and northern Illinois about two weeks later; the crop rows below are the chart dates, not a recalculation of that sentence.

Source: University of Illinois Extension, When to Plant, retrieved 2026-10-10.

How this page reads that source: Illinois Fruit and Vegetable Planting Dates chart: north: April 5 to 30, Aug. 5 to Sept. 15; central: March 25 to April 15, July 21 to Aug. 30; south: March 11 to April 1, July 7 to Aug. 15.

North

  • April 5 to 30 (April 5–April 30).
  • Aug. 5 to Sept. 15 (August 5–September 15).

Central

  • March 25 to April 15 (March 25–April 15).
  • July 21 to Aug. 30 (July 21–August 30).

South

  • March 11 to April 1 (March 11–April 1).
  • July 7 to Aug. 15 (July 7–August 15).

City frost pages in Illinois are listed on Illinois.