One of the first steps you take when you are determining 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.

You can estimate when it's a good idea to plant cauliflower in Palo Alto by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Cauliflower

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

Cauliflower do ok in moderate cold which tells us that you can plant them a little bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant cauliflower in Palo Alto 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 cauliflower and expect a good harvest is probably October. If you wait any later than that and your cauliflower may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your cauliflower indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Palo Alto and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Palo Alto there is a last frost after February 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your cauliflower if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Palo Alto

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 Palo Alto

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Palo Alto.