One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By referring to the USDA zone info for San Mateo it's a good idea to estimate when to plant salsify.

Planting Calendar for Salsify

Frost tolerance for salsify:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Since salsify are barely cold tolerant you can plant them slightly earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant salsify in San Mateo is February. However, you really should wait until March if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant salsify and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your salsify may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your salsify indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In San Mateo the average date of last frost happens on January 31. It might get as low as 30°F during the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for San Mateo and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in San Mateo it frosts late in the year after January 31 be ready to cover your salsify if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for San Mateo

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	30°F
Highest Expected Low	35°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 30°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 35°F.

Plants to Grow in San Mateo

You may be interested in your other planting guides for San Mateo.