The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By referring to the USDA zone info for Chico it's a good idea to determine when it's a good idea to plant strawberries.

Planting Calendar for Strawberries

Frost tolerance for strawberries:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Since strawberries are one of those plants that can tolerate quite a bit of cold weather you can plant them quite a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant strawberries 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 strawberries and expect a good harvest is probably October. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your strawberries may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your strawberries indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on February 15 in Chico. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 20°F.

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

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.