One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By checking out the USDA zone info for Arcata you should be able to determine when it's a good idea to plant broccoli.

Planting Calendar for Broccoli

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

Broccoli tend to make it in mild cold which means that you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant broccoli in Arcata 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 broccoli and expect a good harvest is probably October. Any later than that and your broccoli may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your broccoli indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Arcata. It might get as low as 25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Arcata and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Arcata you get surprised by a frost after February 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your broccoli in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Arcata

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	25°F
Highest Expected Low	30°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 30°F.

Plants to Grow in Arcata

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