When to plant Arugula in Illinois, United States

Arugula can be planted after April 22, when air temperature is consistently in a range between 20°F and 75°F and soil temperature is above 45°F.

Arugula details page

Growing Arugula in Illinois

Days suitable for growing Arugula in Illinois

Arugula needs on average between 21 and 40 days to mature and produce harvest.

Illinois has 2 distinct seasons suitable for growing Arugula

April 22 to May 15
This Arugula growing season in Illinois is quite short, with only 24 days suitable for growth so it is really important to time your planting activities, and choose varieties with shorter time to harvest requirements.
October 03 to October 30
This Arugula growing season in Illinois is quite short, with only 28 days suitable for growth so it is really important to time your planting activities, and choose varieties with shorter time to harvest requirements.

Planting Arugula in Illinois before April 22 without any additional protection is not advised because cold streaks can damage or kill off young plant.

Growing season extention

In order to maximize chances for a good harvest of Arugula in Illinois, some extra steps can be taken to extend growing season.

Start seeds indoors

When starting seeds indoors, it is possible to guarantee best possible conditions for young seedlings. Consistent temperature range, adequate watering and ample light (natural, supplemented with artifitial grow lights) will ensure you have strong and healthy seedlings just in time for transplanting into soil.

It takes 21 days on average for Arugula to sprout, and grow big enough to be ready for transplanting.

Illinois has 3 distinct seasons for growing Arugula

In order to get plants ready for April 04 seeds should be started indoors bwetween March 14 and March 24
Seeds started after March 24 are not likely to mature and produce harvest.
This Arugula growing season in Illinois is quite short, with only 11 days suitable for growth so it is really important to time your planting activities, and choose varieties with shorter time to harvest requirements.
In order to get plants ready for April 22 seeds should be started indoors bwetween April 01 and April 05
Seeds started after April 05 are not likely to mature and produce harvest.
This Arugula growing season in Illinois is quite short, with only 24 days suitable for growth so it is really important to time your planting activities, and choose varieties with shorter time to harvest requirements.
In order to get plants ready for October 03 seeds should be started indoors bwetween September 12 and September 20
Seeds started after September 20 are not likely to mature and produce harvest.
This Arugula growing season in Illinois is quite short, with only 28 days suitable for growth so it is really important to time your planting activities, and choose varieties with shorter time to harvest requirements.

Use a cold frame

When using a cold frame in a beggining of growing season You can protect young plants from possible temperature drops, this way growing season can start up to 2 weeks earlier.

Use an additional shading

On days, when air temperatures are expected to raise above 75°F, which is in top of tolerable range for Arugula, consider using additional shading to prevent heat shock.

Total frost free days	192
Last frost expected date	April 22
First frost expected date	October 31
Dates with ideal conditions	May 03 May 06 May 11 to May 12 (2 days) October 13
Dates with suitable conditions	April 04 to April 14 (11 days) April 20 April 22 to May 15 (24 days) May 17 to May 18 (2 days) May 20 to May 22 (3 days) May 28 September 23 October 03 to October 30 (28 days) November 04 to November 11 (8 days)
Total days ideal for growing Arugula in Illinois	5
Total days suitable for growing Arugula in Illinois	79
Days needed for Arugula to mature and produce harvest	21 - 40
Seed can be planted directly into soil	no
Seed has to be started indoors	yes

Notable temperature facts for growing Arugula in Illinois

Table with days suitable to grow vegetables in Illinois

Tolerable temperature range for Arugula: 20°F to 75°F

	Week	Average temperature	Possible min and max temperature	Suitable for Arugula
1	January 01 - January 03	29°F to 42°F	6°F to 58°F	TRUE
2	January 04 - January 10	26°F to 40°F	0°F to 57°F	TRUE
3	January 11 - January 17	27°F to 39°F	9°F to 55°F	TRUE
4	January 18 - January 24	20°F to 35°F	-2°F to 46°F	TRUE
5	January 25 - January 31	16°F to 31°F	-19°F to 43°F
6	February 01 - February 07	22°F to 38°F	-3°F to 58°F	TRUE
7	February 08 - February 14	19°F to 34°F	-6°F to 56°F
8	February 15 - February 21	20°F to 39°F	-5°F to 57°F	TRUE
9	February 22 - February 28	28°F to 44°F	12°F to 59°F	TRUE
10	March 01 - March 07	29°F to 49°F	0°F to 68°F	TRUE
11	March 08 - March 14	34°F to 51°F	12°F to 67°F	TRUE
12	March 15 - March 21	34°F to 52°F	17°F to 70°F	TRUE
13	March 22 - March 28	38°F to 54°F	26°F to 69°F	TRUE
14	March 29 - April 04	38°F to 58°F	26°F to 77°F	TRUE
15	April 05 - April 11	45°F to 64°F	32°F to 77°F	TRUE
16	April 12 - April 18	41°F to 60°F	28°F to 77°F	TRUE
17	April 19 - April 25	44°F to 62°F	29°F to 80°F	TRUE
18	April 26 - May 02	47°F to 65°F	35°F to 80°F	TRUE
19	May 03 - May 09	49°F to 67°F	40°F to 81°F	TRUE
20	May 10 - May 16	52°F to 70°F	33°F to 87°F	TRUE
21	May 17 - May 23	57°F to 74°F	47°F to 84°F	TRUE
22	May 24 - May 30	60°F to 77°F	44°F to 86°F
23	May 31 - June 06	62°F to 80°F	52°F to 89°F
24	June 07 - June 13	62°F to 80°F	52°F to 91°F
25	June 14 - June 20	64°F to 83°F	53°F to 93°F
26	June 21 - June 27	67°F to 83°F	54°F to 93°F
27	June 28 - July 04	69°F to 85°F	58°F to 91°F
28	July 05 - July 11	69°F to 85°F	61°F to 93°F
29	July 12 - July 18	68°F to 84°F	63°F to 90°F
30	July 19 - July 25	69°F to 86°F	61°F to 93°F
31	July 26 - August 01	69°F to 85°F	60°F to 94°F
32	August 02 - August 08	67°F to 83°F	56°F to 90°F
33	August 09 - August 15	68°F to 83°F	62°F to 91°F
34	August 16 - August 22	67°F to 83°F	58°F to 91°F
35	August 23 - August 29	69°F to 85°F	60°F to 97°F
36	August 30 - September 05	65°F to 81°F	55°F to 90°F
37	September 06 - September 12	64°F to 80°F	56°F to 89°F
38	September 13 - September 19	62°F to 80°F	53°F to 87°F
39	September 20 - September 26	60°F to 76°F	48°F to 91°F
40	September 27 - October 03	59°F to 75°F	44°F to 87°F	TRUE
41	October 04 - October 10	53°F to 70°F	38°F to 82°F	TRUE
42	October 11 - October 17	49°F to 66°F	37°F to 79°F	TRUE
43	October 18 - October 24	48°F to 64°F	33°F to 78°F	TRUE
44	October 25 - October 31	44°F to 55°F	29°F to 72°F	TRUE
45	November 01 - November 07	40°F to 58°F	24°F to 73°F	TRUE
46	November 08 - November 14	39°F to 54°F	11°F to 74°F	TRUE
47	November 15 - November 21	35°F to 50°F	18°F to 65°F	TRUE
48	November 22 - November 28	33°F to 47°F	18°F to 57°F	TRUE
49	November 29 - December 05	32°F to 47°F	22°F to 60°F	TRUE
50	December 06 - December 12	32°F to 46°F	18°F to 61°F	TRUE
51	December 13 - December 19	30°F to 41°F	15°F to 66°F	TRUE
52	December 20 - December 26	29°F to 44°F	-8°F to 61°F	TRUE
53	December 27 - December 31	31°F to 45°F	10°F to 60°F	TRUE

Days with suitable temperature for growing Arugula in Illinois

Arugula details page

For more precise weather statisctics and planting information, please select a County in Illinois.

All data is provided “as is” without warranty or any representation of accuracy, timeliness or completeness.

Average daily temperatures were calculated using

Weather data provided by OpenWeather