The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Oakland you can determine when to plant shallots by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Shallots

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

Since shallots do ok in moderate cold you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant shallots in Oakland 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 shallots and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your shallots may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your shallots indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on January 31 in Oakland. It might get as low as 30°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Oakland may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Oakland there is a last frost after January 31 so make sure that you are ready to protect your shallots if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Oakland

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 Oakland

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