One of the first steps you take when you are determining your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Chico you can estimate when it's possible to plant cucumbers by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Cucumbers

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

Cucumbers require warm weather which means that it is important to wait until it warms up after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant cucumbers in Chico 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 cucumbers and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your cucumbers may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your cucumbers indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Chico the average date of last frost happens on February 15. You should expect an average low temperature of 20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Chico is just an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Chico it frosts late in the year after February 15 be ready to cover your cucumbers if you have 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.