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

By checking out the USDA zone info for Downey you will be able to estimate when it's a good idea to plant eggplants.

Planting Calendar for Eggplants

Frost tolerance for eggplants:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost has passed.

It's a bad idea to plant eggplants until after the last frost because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant eggplants in Downey is February. However, you really should wait until March if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant eggplants and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your eggplants may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your eggplants indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Downey the average date of last frost happens on January 31. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 35°F.

Remember that USDA zone info for Downey is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Downey there is a last frost after January 31 so make sure that you are ready to cover your eggplants if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Downey

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	35°F
Highest Expected Low	40°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 35°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 40°F.

Plants to Grow in Downey

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