One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about your gardening schedule is find your 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 figure out when you can plant thyme by checking out the USDA zone info for Ojai.

Planting Calendar for Thyme

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

Thyme are one of those plants that can tolerate quite a bit of cold weather which tells us that you can plant them a quite a bit earlier than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant thyme in Ojai 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 thyme and expect a good harvest is probably October. Any later than that and your thyme may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your thyme indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Ojai the average date of last frost happens on February 15. It might get as low as 25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Ojai is not always accurate the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Ojai it frosts late in the year after February 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your thyme if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Ojai

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 Ojai

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