One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Homestead you can determine when it's a good idea to plant chicory by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Chicory

Frost tolerance for chicory:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Since chicory are moderately cold tolerant you can plant them a little earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant chicory in Homestead 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 chicory and expect a good harvest is probably October. If you wait any later than that and your chicory may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your chicory indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Homestead the average date of last frost happens on January 31. It might get as low as 35°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Homestead is just an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Homestead last frost occurs after January 31 so always be ready to cover your chicory in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Homestead

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 Homestead

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Homestead.