The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The first chance to plant sweet corn in Palo Alto can be determined by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Sweet corn

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

Since sweet corn are barely cold tolerant you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

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

Last Frost Date

In Palo Alto 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 Palo Alto 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 Palo Alto it frosts late in the year after February 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your sweet corn 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.