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.

It's possible to estimate when to plant stocks by reviewing the USDA zone info for Hercules.

Planting Calendar for Stocks

Frost tolerance for stocks:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Stocks do well in a tiny bit of cold which means that you can plant them just a tiny bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant stocks in Hercules 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 stocks and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your stocks may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your stocks indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Hercules. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 25°F.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Hercules and it is different every year. Since half of the time in Hercules it frosts late in the year after February 15 be ready to cover your stocks in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Hercules

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 Hercules

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