Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The first chance to plant shallots in Downey can be figured out by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Shallots

Frost tolerance for shallots:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

You can plant shallots slightly earlier in the year because they are barely cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant shallots 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 shallots and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your shallots may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your shallots indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is January 31 in Downey. It might get as low as 35°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Downey is just an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Downey there is a last frost after January 31 be ready to protect your shallots in the event of one of those late frosts.

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.