The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Novato can be reffered to in order to estimate when it's a good idea to plant onions.

Planting Calendar for Onions

Frost tolerance for onions:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

You can plant onions quite a bit earlier in the year because they are one of those plants that can tolerate quite a bit of cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant onions 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 onions and expect a good harvest is probably October. Any later than that and your onions may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your onions 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 may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Novato last frost occurs after February 15 be ready to protect your onions in the event of a surprise 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.