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

The first chance to plant rock cress in El Centro should be figured out by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Rock Cress

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

Rock Cress do ok in quite a bit of cold which tells us that you can plant them earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant rock cress 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 rock cress and expect a good harvest is probably October. Any later than that and your rock cress may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your rock cress indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is January 31 in El Centro. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 30°F.

Since the USDA zone info for El Centro is an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in El Centro there is a last frost after January 31 be ready to cover your rock cress if you have one of those late frosts.

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.