One of the first steps you take when you are determining your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Atascadero can be reffered to in order to figure out when to plant fennel.

Planting Calendar for Fennel

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

You can plant fennel earlier in the year because they are very cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant fennel in Atascadero 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 fennel and expect a good harvest is probably October. If you wait any later than that and your fennel may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your fennel indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Atascadero. You can expect an average low temperature of 20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Atascadero is an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Atascadero you get surprised by a frost after February 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your fennel in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Atascadero

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	20°F
Highest Expected Low	25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 25°F.

Plants to Grow in Atascadero

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