One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out 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.

It's possible to figure out when you can plant fennel by looking at the USDA zone info for Del Mar.

Planting Calendar for Fennel

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

Fennel do ok in quite a bit of cold which means that you can plant them earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant fennel in Del Mar 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 fully mature. Starting your fennel indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on January 31 in Del Mar. You can expect an average low temperature of 30°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Del Mar and it changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Del Mar you get surprised by a frost after January 31 be ready to cover your fennel if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Del Mar

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	30°F
Highest Expected Low	35°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 30°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 35°F.

Plants to Grow in Del Mar

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Del Mar.