Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. 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 Merced it's a good idea to determine when to plant bunching onions.

Planting Calendar for Bunching Onions

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

You can plant bunching onions slightly earlier in the year because they do ok in moderate cold.

The earliest that you can plant bunching onions in Merced 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 bunching onions and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your bunching onions may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your bunching onions indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on February 15 in Merced. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 20°F.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Merced may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Merced you get a frost after February 15 be ready to cover your bunching onions in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Merced

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	20°F
Highest Expected Low	25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 25°F.

Plants to Grow in Merced

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