One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of estimating when you can plant stoneseed is to look at the USDA zone info for Orinda.

Planting Calendar for Stoneseed

Frost tolerance for stoneseed:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

Stoneseed are not cold tolerant which means that you have to wait until it warms up after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant stoneseed in Orinda is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant stoneseed and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your stoneseed may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your stoneseed indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Orinda the average date of last frost happens on February 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 25°F.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Orinda is an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Orinda you get surprised by a frost after February 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your stoneseed in the event of a surprise 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.