One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the 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.

A common way of estimating when to plant eggplants is to refer to the USDA zone info for Atwater.

Planting Calendar for Eggplants

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

Since eggplants require warm weather you need to wait until after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant eggplants in Atwater 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 eggplants and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your eggplants may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your eggplants indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Atwater and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Atwater last frost occurs after February 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your eggplants in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Atwater

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 Atwater

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