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.

The best time to plant eggplants in Clay can be figured out by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Eggplants

Frost tolerance for eggplants:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

It's probably a bad idea to plant eggplants until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant eggplants in Clay 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 eggplants and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your eggplants may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your eggplants indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Clay the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 5°F.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Clay and it changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Clay you get a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your eggplants if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Clay

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	5°F
Highest Expected Low	10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 10°F.

Plants to Grow in Clay

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