Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The first opportunity to plant watercress in Big Bear Lake can be figured out by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Watercress

Frost tolerance for watercress:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Watercress do well in a tiny bit of cold which means that you can plant them just a tiny bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant watercress in Big Bear Lake 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 watercress and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your watercress may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your watercress indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Big Bear Lake the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as 0°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Big Bear Lake and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Big Bear Lake you get a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your watercress in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Big Bear Lake

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	0°F
Highest Expected Low	5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 0°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 5°F.

Plants to Grow in Big Bear Lake

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Big Bear Lake.