The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of making a decision about when it's a good idea to plant eggplants is to consult the USDA zone info for Berkeley.

Planting Calendar for Eggplants

Frost tolerance for eggplants:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

Eggplants are not cold tolerant which means that you have to wait until it warms up after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant eggplants in Berkeley is February. However, you really should wait until March 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. If you wait any later than that and your eggplants may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your eggplants indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on January 31 in Berkeley. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 30°F.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Berkeley and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Berkeley you get a frost after January 31 so be sure to be ready to protect your eggplants in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Berkeley

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	30°F
Highest Expected Low	35°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 30°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 35°F.

Plants to Grow in Berkeley

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