One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the 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.

One way of estimating when it's a good idea to plant chinese chives is to consult the USDA zone info for Novato.

Planting Calendar for Chinese chives

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

Chinese chives do well in moderate cold which tells us that you can get them planted earlier than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant chinese chives in Novato 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 chinese chives and expect a good harvest is probably October. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your chinese chives may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your chinese chives indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Novato. It might get as low as 25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Novato is an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Novato there is a last frost after February 15 so always be ready to cover your chinese chives in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Novato

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 Novato

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