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.

You will be able to determine when it's the best time to plant rock cress by using the USDA zone info for Novato.

Planting Calendar for Rock Cress

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

You can plant rock cress earlier in the year because they are very cold tolerant.

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

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Novato. You should expect an average low temperature of 25°F in 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 is different every year. Half of the time in Novato you get a frost after February 15 so always be ready to cover your rock cress 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.