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📸 Credit: Geneva Public Library on Facebook
Every spring I go down a rabbit hole as I wrestle with what to plant, when to plant it, and why my experiments from the previous season didn’t work out (i.e. rock-hard sweet potatoes).
Turns out a lot of it comes down to timing. Here in Northern Illinois, our last frost date typically runs from late April into early May — which is a pretty important factor when deciding what you're going to grow.
Illinois Extension (College of Agriculture) breaks vegetables into two camps: cool-season crops like carrots, broccoli, and radishes that can handle a light frost, and warm-season crops like tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers that need to go in well after the frost risk passes.
The Illinois Extension's full planting guide for Northern Illinois is worth a look. They’ve listed ideal planting times (from seed and transplant) for a wide variety of common fruits and vegetables in our hardiness zone.
Seed swaps
All three local library systems are running seed libraries this season — and they're all free:
Batavia Public Library: Seeds are available now while supplies last. No details yet on specific varieties, so stop in to see what's available.
Geneva Public Library: Free seed packets (flowers, herbs, fruits, and veggies) are available in the lobby through the end of June.
St. Charles Public Library: The Seed Library stocks heirloom and open-pollinated seeds, no library card required. Master gardeners from U of I Extension will also be on-site in the lobby to answer questions on May 24, May 31, June 14, and June 21. Get more info here.
Keep in mind that all three libraries are home to a huge assortment of gardening and planting books if you’re looking for extra guidance.
Native plant resources
Some tips for finding and caring for other plants that should do well locally:
Native Plants Guide: See which native plants partner well together and get plant grouping ideas.
Morton Arboretum: Here’s a pre-filtered search for trees and plants native to our zone.
Audubon Society: An easy zip code search turns up 100+ bird-friendly native plants for the Tri-Cities area.
Wasco Nursery: Planting instructions to follow once you’ve purchased your plants.
Banana tree curious? The internet yields surprisingly little guidance for growing banana trees in Northern Illinois, but this article features some useful tips if you’re interested in acquiring a weird new hobby. If you plant one, make sure to send me pics.
📖 Thanks for reading
Please feel free to reach out to [email protected] with questions or comments.
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