One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The earliest that you can plant shallots in Smithfield can be figured out by using the USDA zone info.

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.

Since shallots do ok in moderate cold you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant shallots in Smithfield 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. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your shallots indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on March 15 in Smithfield. You should expect an average low temperature of 10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Smithfield is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Smithfield there is a last frost after March 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your shallots in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Smithfield

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 Smithfield

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