One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate 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 way of estimating when it's a good idea to plant cauliflower is to use the USDA zone info for Chico.

Planting Calendar for Cauliflower

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

Cauliflower do ok in a little bit of cold which means that you can plant them a little bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant cauliflower in Chico 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 cauliflower and expect a good harvest is probably October. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your cauliflower may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your cauliflower indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Chico. It might get as low as 20°F during the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Chico may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Chico you get surprised by a frost after February 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your cauliflower in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Chico

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 Chico

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