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Planting calendar by ZIP code

ZIP 60601 · Typical yearChange

Your growing season · ZIP 60601

~209 frost-free days

Roughly April 10 to November 5, in a typical year.

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Hardiness zone

6b

USDA 2023, ZIP 60601

Frost window

April 10

First fall frost: November 5

Nearest station

CHICAGO NORTHERLY IS, IL US

2.1 mi away

Start indoorsTransplantDirect sowFall plantingPlant · by seasonHarvest

Hollow band = approximate planting season, not adjusted to your frost dates. Tap the plant for the sourced timing.

September

Fall planting· 7

Plant · by season· 178

All of zone 6bExact August checklistBrowse the plant guides

Put the plan to work

Choose the setup for the season ahead

Bands are your nearest NOAA station's 1991-2020 freeze normals shifted by each crop's extension-sourced planting window. Local microclimates vary; use these as a planning baseline. USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map, 2023. USDA Agricultural Research Service / Oregon State University PRISM Group. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020.

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<script>window.addEventListener("message",function(e){if(e.origin!=="https://sproutauthority.com"||e.data?.type!=="sprout-authority:resize")return;var f=document.getElementById("sprout-planting-calendar");if(f)f.height=String(e.data.height)});</script>
<p style="font:14px/1.5 system-ui,sans-serif">Free <a href="https://sproutauthority.com/tools/planting-calendar">Sprout Authority planting calendar</a> by Sprout Authority.</p>

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Common questions

How are these planting dates calculated?

We take your ZIP code's USDA 2023 hardiness zone and the 1991-2020 freeze-date normals from your nearest NOAA weather station, then shift each crop by its planting window from university extension publications. Nothing is hand-typed per crop.

What does the frost risk setting do?

It picks how conservative the frost date is. Cautious uses the date by which a late frost is unlikely (only a 10 percent chance one comes later), so you wait longer and risk fewer losses. Optimistic plants earlier and accepts more risk. Typical year is the median.

My area never frosts. What happens?

If your nearest station shows no reliable freeze, frost-anchored timing does not apply and we say so. Plant by soil temperature and season instead; see each plant guide.

Data sources: USDA 2023 hardiness-zone ZIP listings and NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 freeze normals. Review the station mapping and download the sourceable table on the frost-date dataset page.