Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The earliest that you can plant chinese cabbage in Orinda can be determined by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Chinese cabbage

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

Since chinese cabbage do well in moderate cold you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant chinese cabbage in Orinda 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 cabbage and expect a good harvest is probably October. Any later than that and your chinese cabbage may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your chinese cabbage indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Orinda. You can expect an average low temperature of 25°F in the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Orinda is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Orinda you get surprised by a frost after February 15 be ready to cover your chinese cabbage in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Orinda

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 Orinda

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