One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Chowchilla should be reviewed to determine when to plant fennel.

Planting Calendar for Fennel

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

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

The earliest that you can plant fennel in Chowchilla 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 fennel and expect a good harvest is probably October. If you wait any later than that and your fennel may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your fennel indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Chowchilla may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Chowchilla there is a last frost after February 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your fennel in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Chowchilla

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 Chowchilla

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