The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Santa Monica you can figure out when to plant onions by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Onions

Frost tolerance for onions:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Since onions do well in cold you can plant them much earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant onions in Santa Monica is January. However, you really should wait until February if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant onions and expect a good harvest is probably October. Any later than that and your onions may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your onions indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Santa Monica the average date of last frost happens on January 31. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 35°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Santa Monica is an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Santa Monica you get a frost after January 31 be ready to cover your onions if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Santa Monica

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	35°F
Highest Expected Low	40°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 35°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 40°F.

Plants to Grow in Santa Monica

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Santa Monica.