One of the first steps you take when you are determining 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.

By looking at the USDA zone info for Exeter it's possible to determine when you can plant eggplants.

Planting Calendar for Eggplants

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

Eggplants do not do well in cold weather which tells us that it is important to wait until it warms up after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant eggplants in Exeter is March. However, you really should wait until April 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your eggplants may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your eggplants indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Exeter the average date of last frost happens on February 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 25°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Exeter is just an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Exeter last frost occurs after February 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your eggplants in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Exeter

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	25°F
Highest Expected Low	30°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 30°F.

Plants to Grow in Exeter

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