One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about your gardening schedule is find your 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.

You will be able to figure out when it's the best time to plant radicchio by referring to the USDA zone info for El Centro.

Planting Calendar for Radicchio

Frost tolerance for radicchio:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Radicchio are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather which tells us that you can get them planted earlier than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant radicchio in El Centro 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 radicchio and expect a good harvest is probably October. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your radicchio may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your radicchio indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on January 31 in El Centro. It might get as low as 30°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for El Centro is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in El Centro you get a frost after January 31 so always be ready to cover your radicchio in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for El Centro

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 El Centro

You may be interested in your other planting guides for El Centro.