When to Plant Cress in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, United States

Step by step in Hoffman Estates

Import into Apple Calendar, Google Calendar or Outlook. Dates use the selected risk level and are planning estimates, not frost alerts.

Each window is a planning range. Check the forecast, soil and cultivar before planting; a later date is not automatically safer in hot or wet conditions.

Sow direct

29 Mar - 24 May

Four weeks before your last frost.

Harvest

1 Apr - 31 Oct

Sow in succession. A single sowing gives you a single glut. Sow a short row every 7 days through the window above and you get a steady supply instead.

Frost tolerance

Half-hardy

Damaged below

-3°C (26.6°F)

Days to maturity

14–21

Min soil temp

4.5°C (40.1°F)

Spacing

5 cm

Sowing depth

5 mm (0.2 in)

Sun

Partial

Cress through the year

Against the frost risk in Hoffman Estates

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Cress

Frost risk Sow direct Harvest Today

Seasonal context

Rainfall and the growing season in Hoffman Estates

May has the highest average precipitation (121 mm); January has the lowest (44 mm). Compare this pattern with the planting windows and your water supply.

Jan 44 mm

Feb 51 mm

Mar 63 mm

Apr 94 mm

May 121 mm

Jun 112 mm

Jul 100 mm

Aug 105 mm

Sep 87 mm

Oct 91 mm

Nov 58 mm

Dec 58 mm

During wetter months, check that beds and containers drain after heavy rain. During drier months, plan how you will keep seeds and new transplants watered. Monthly averages can hide long dry spells and intense storms; they do not show soil moisture, humidity or this week's weather.

Source: NASA POWER, corrected MERRA-2 precipitation, 2001–2020. Values are approximate monthly totals, including the water equivalent of snow, from the nearest 0.5° × 0.625° grid cell. This reference period differs from the temperature record. Rainfall provides context and does not change the calculated planting dates. Method and limitations.

Monthly growing conditions in Hoffman Estates

Compare the planting window with the local temperature pattern. These are historical monthly averages, not this year's forecast or measured soil temperatures. Average frost days do not tell you whether a particular night will freeze.

NASA POWER climate averages, 1995–2024
Month	Average low	Average high	Frost days
January	-9.8°C (14.4°F)	-1.5°C (29.3°F)	29.4
February	-8.2°C (17.3°F)	1.1°C (33.9°F)	26.6
March	-2.4°C (27.6°F)	7.7°C (45.9°F)	23.1
April	2.6°C (36.7°F)	14.5°C (58.1°F)	8.7
May	8.8°C (47.8°F)	20.7°C (69.3°F)	0.3
June	14.7°C (58.5°F)	26.3°C (79.3°F)	0.0
July	17.6°C (63.8°F)	28.7°C (83.6°F)	0.0
August	17.2°C (63°F)	28.3°C (83°F)	0.0
September	12.9°C (55.2°F)	24.7°C (76.4°F)	0.0
October	5.9°C (42.7°F)	17°C (62.6°F)	3.2
November	-0.7°C (30.7°F)	8.4°C (47.2°F)	18.0
December	-6.3°C (20.6°F)	1.4°C (34.5°F)	27.5

For cress, also check drainage, sunlight and cultivar requirements. See the rainfall context above; humidity, irrigation and local pest pressure are not calculated.

Local growing check

Before choosing cress for Hoffman Estates

May is the wettest month in the rainfall grid, averaging about 121 mm. Check how your own bed drains and plan watering around actual soil moisture; monthly rain totals are not an irrigation schedule.

The temperature and rainfall tables on this page show the underlying climate estimates. How these suitability checks work · Record what happens in your garden.

Before you plant cress

Use the calendar to plan ahead, then check the conditions in your own garden.

Measure the soil at sowing depth. Aim for at least 4.5°C (40.1°F); the calendar estimates soil warmth from air temperatures and cannot measure your bed.
Check the local overnight forecast before planting out. Delay planting or keep protection ready if frost is forecast, even after the historical last-frost date.
Use the maturity range on your seed packet when choosing a variety. Cold, short days and transplant stress can make harvest later than the calendar estimate.

Distinguish a short tray crop from full-size garden cress

For trays, use clean equipment and seed intended for edible shoots, keeping the medium moist without stagnant water. For outdoor plants, choose a suitable cool period or some summer shade to slow premature flowering.

Sow small batches so tender shoots are available when you can use them. Harvest clean growth and discard mouldy batches rather than rinsing away visible spoilage. Record the flavour and texture at your preferred cutting stage.

What to record this season

How many days gave clean, tender shoots in your actual indoor or outdoor conditions? Add the cultivar, sowing date and conditions to your growing record so you can compare next season.

Further reading: Plants For A Future: Lepidium sativum . General crop guidance; local dates on this site are calculated separately. Source checked 19 September 2026 by Safe to Plant; this is not an expert review.

Plants For A Future compiles botanical and cultivation references. This is general species guidance, not a local field trial or evidence that every cultivar will crop in your climate.

How the dates are calculated and their limits · Keep a growing record · Report a local discrepancy

Why these dates

For trays, use clean equipment and seed intended for edible shoots, keeping the medium moist without stagnant water. For outdoor plants, choose a suitable cool period or some summer shade to slow premature flowering.

Check the named variety and local forecast before exposing young growth. The catalog cold-damage figure is a reference, not a guarantee: plant age, acclimatisation, wind and the duration of a freeze affect damage.

This calendar uses frost-relative offsets as a starting point. Cress are timed for direct sowing 4 weeks before it, and this page simply resolves those offsets against the frost date computed for Hoffman Estates.

The calendar also applies a soil-warming estimate derived from historical air temperatures. Where that estimate is later than the frost-based date, it delays the window. Soil in your own garden can warm earlier or later; a thermometer at sowing depth is a better final check. Cold, wet conditions can slow germination and increase decay risk.

The median frost-free season here is 179 days, against 14 to 21 days to maturity for this crop counted from sowing. That margin is what decides whether a late sowing is worth attempting.

See every crop timed for Hoffman Estates →

Nearby

Cress in places close by

Schaumburg 1 km Palatine 8 km Arlington Heights 10 km Mount Prospect 12 km Des Plaines 16 km Elgin 17 km

Also in Hoffman Estates

Other vegetables to time

Tomatoes tender Lettuce half hardy Potatoes half hardy Courgettes tender Sweet peppers tender Carrots hardy Cucumbers tender Green beans tender Peas hardy Garlic very hardy Chilli peppers tender Sweetcorn tender

Growing cress in Hoffman Estates

Can I grow cress in Hoffman Estates?

The calendar estimates a planting window, not a guarantee of success. May is the wettest month in the rainfall grid, averaging about 121 mm. Check how your own bed drains and plan watering around actual soil moisture; monthly rain totals are not an irrigation schedule.

When should I plant cress in Hoffman Estates?

Aim for 29 Mar - 24 May in an average year. If you would rather not gamble on the weather, wait until 14 Apr - 9 Jun - by then frost has finished in nine years out of ten.

When might cress be ready to harvest in Hoffman Estates?

The estimated period is 1 Apr - 31 Oct, based on 14 to 21 days from the modeled planting date. Cultivar, planting material and growing conditions can change this interval; check the plant as well as the calendar.

How much frost will cress tolerate?