When to plant onion in Chicago

Where are you growing?

Comfortable

Not realistic in greenhouse

Comfortable in a cold frame

Onion in Chicago is a good fit outdoors. The suitable growing window of 238 days covers the 90–120 days this plant usually needs.

When to plantMarch 28 – May 22

Harvest: June 26 – September 19
Season vs crop: 238 grow days vs 90–120 needed
Typical frost (last spring – first fall): May 9 – November 2

Onion in Chicago is a good fit outdoors. The suitable growing window of 238 days covers the 90–120 days this plant usually needs.

Planting conditions

Direct sow

Local activity windows for this place and growing method. Blue fill is usually too cold for this plant. Dashed lines are typical last and first frost.

Suitable growing days in a row238

Days to harvest90–120 days from seed

Mar 28 – May 22

Direct sow

Activity	Window	Notes
Direct sow	Mar 28 – May 22	Plant outdoors in this window.

Blue fill is usually too cold for this plant. Dashed lines are typical last and first frost. Adjust a week or two for your conditions.

Planting and growing across the year

Planting is the sow / plant-out window. Growing is daytime air versus this plant’s ideal (59 – 75 °F) and tolerable (39 – 86 °F) ranges.

Planting uses sow / plant-out rules (frost, soil germination, night, and last-sow): green when plantable, blue diagonal when nights or soil are too cold, amber cross-hatch when too hot, faint for other calendar limits. Growing shows daytime air against this plant’s ideal and tolerable ranges across the year.

Key dates

Typical last spring frostMay 9

Safer last spring frostMay 9

Typical first fall frostNovember 2

Safer first fall frostNovember 2

Frost-free days176

Outdoor sow dateMarch 28

Direct sow windowMarch 28 – May 22

Suitable growing windowMarch 28 – November 20 (238 days)

How these dates are judged

Ideal conditions: Daytime air from 59 – 75 °F.
Suitable conditions: Daytime air from 39 – 86 °F.
Last frost and first frost: Typical spring and fall frost dates for Chicago, shown in the key dates.
Days to harvest: 90–120 days from seed, from typical days to harvest.
Sowing window: Dated sow and harvest bars use frost dates, soil minima, night limits, and last-sow count-back from typical crop timing. The year strip and weekly chart use the same window: air ratings only colour weeks inside it.

Growing window for Onion: Mar 28 – Nov 20 (238 days)

Planting window for Onion: Mar 28 – May 22 (56 days)

Usually too cold: Nov 23 – Dec 31

Outdoors: weekly temperatures and windows

Temperatures across the year for Chicago. Shaded bands are this plant’s ideal and tolerable daytime air ranges. Growing is daytime air suitability; Planting is sow / plant-out conditions (same colour language). Window brackets mark each stretch.

Ideal range
Tolerable range
Possible min to max
Average min to max
Suitable
Tolerable
Too cold
Too hot

Selected week · tap a week or use the arrows

Week 13 · Mar 23 – Mar 29

Average 36 to 46 °F · Possible 26 to 66 °F

Growing: too cold

Planting: not sowable

A week is in range when its average low and high sit inside the tolerance band 39 to 86 °F; it is suitable when that average range also overlaps the ideal 59 to 75 °F band and possible readings stay within 39 °F to 86 °F. Crossing a possible limit, or missing the ideal band, makes it tolerable; a possible low below 39 °F makes it tolerable. When a sowing window is calculated, weeks outside that window are uncoloured even if air is in range.

Based on average frost dates.

Show all 53 weeks

Cover method weekly charts

Outdoor weekly chart is above. Open a cover chart only if you grow under fleece, a cold frame, or an unheated greenhouse.

Other plants for Chicago

Calculated by Plan & Plant · Method · Data 2019–2026

Frost and suitability dates are typical figures from climate statistics. Microclimates vary; they are not a guarantee.

How we calculated this

Data: ERA5-Land via Open-Meteo, cell 41.90, -87.60, years 2019–2026 (not a 30-year climate normal yet).
Typical and safer dates: Typical last frost is the date after which half of winters in this sample had no more frost; safer is later in the sample so fewer winters still frosted.
Crop rule: Local windows for Onion from frost dates, temperature ratings, and crop timing rules.
Confidence: Provisional — short or thin sample for this place.
Full methodology (algorithm 2026-10-season-6).

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