Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

A common way of making a decision about when it's possible to plant nigella is to examine the USDA zone info for Fairbanks.

Planting Calendar for Nigella

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

You can plant nigella much earlier in the year because they are one of those plants that can tolerate quite a bit of cold weather.

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

The last month that you can plant nigella and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your nigella may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your nigella indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is May 15 in Fairbanks. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -50°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Fairbanks may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Fairbanks it frosts late in the year after May 15 be ready to cover your nigella if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Fairbanks

Here is the info for USDA Zone 2a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	August 15
Lowest Expected Low	-50°F
Highest Expected Low	-45°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -50°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -45°F.

Plants to Grow in Fairbanks

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