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

The earliest that you can plant jerusalem artichokes in La Mesa should be figured out by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Jerusalem artichokes

Frost tolerance for jerusalem artichokes:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Since jerusalem artichokes are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather you can plant them a little bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant jerusalem artichokes in La Mesa 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 jerusalem artichokes and expect a good harvest is probably October. If you wait any later than that and your jerusalem artichokes may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your jerusalem artichokes indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is January 31 in La Mesa. It might get as low as 30°F during the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for La Mesa and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in La Mesa it frosts late in the year after January 31 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your jerusalem artichokes if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for La Mesa

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 La Mesa

You may be interested in your other planting guides for La Mesa.