One of the first steps you take when you are estimating your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The first opportunity to plant nigella in Exeter should be figured out by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Nigella

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

Nigella tend to make it in pretty solid cold which means that you can plant them quite a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant nigella in Exeter 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 nigella and expect a good harvest is probably October. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your nigella may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your nigella indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on February 15 in Exeter. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 25°F.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Exeter may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Exeter you get surprised by a frost after February 15 so always be ready to cover your nigella in the event of a surprise 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.