Chicago, IL · zone 6a · ~209 frost-free days
When to plant a garden in Chicago.
In Chicago, the typical last spring frost lands around Apr 10 and the first fall frost around Nov 5, giving you about 209 frost-free days. Cool-season crops go out before the last frost; warm-season crops wait until after it.
The 2026 windows
Sow dates for Chicago, keyed to your frost.
| Crop | Start indoors | Spring sow / set out | Fall sow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tomato, slicing | Mar 6 to May 6 | Apr 17 to Jun 17 | — |
| Lettuce, leaf | — | Mar 3 to Apr 17 | Aug 22 to Oct 21 |
| Carrot | — | Mar 3 to Apr 5 | Aug 10 to Sep 5 |
| Bush Bean | — | Apr 10 to May 31 | Jul 22 to Aug 24 |
| Cucumber, slicing | — | Apr 17 to Jul 17 | Jul 5 to Aug 5 |
| Pepper, bell | Mar 15 to May 6 | Apr 26 to Jun 17 | — |
| Kale | Jan 20 to Feb 17 | Mar 3 to Mar 31 | Aug 5 to Sep 20 |
| Spinach | — | Feb 17 to Mar 31 | Aug 22 to Oct 10 |
Chicago sits in Zone 6a, but two gardens in the same city can be a week or two apart. The planner works from your ZIP code's frost dates, not the zone, so the dates land right for your block, not the metro average.
Build your Chicago garden plan.
Tell the free planner what you want to eat and who you're feeding. It returns plant counts, spacing, and frost-safe sow dates for ZIP 60601 in about 60 seconds.