Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of making a decision about when it's a good idea to plant shallots is to check out the USDA zone info for Riverdale.

Planting Calendar for Shallots

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

Shallots are one of those plants that can tolerate a tiny bit of cold weather which tells us that you can plant them slightly earlier than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant shallots in Riverdale is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant shallots and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your shallots may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your shallots indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on March 15 in Riverdale. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 10°F.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Riverdale may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Riverdale you get surprised by a frost after March 15 be ready to protect your shallots in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Riverdale

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 15°F.

Plants to Grow in Riverdale

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