One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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 referring to the USDA zone info for Fortuna you should be able to determine when to plant shallots.

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.

Shallots can survive in a tiny bit of cold which tells us that you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant shallots in Fortuna 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. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your shallots indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on February 15 in Fortuna. You can expect an average low temperature of 25°F in the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Fortuna is just an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Fortuna there is a last frost after February 15 be ready to cover your shallots if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Fortuna

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 Fortuna

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