One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of estimating when it's the best time to plant stocks is to consult the USDA zone info for Paradise.

Planting Calendar for Stocks

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

Since stocks do ok in moderate cold you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

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

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on February 15 in Paradise. It might get as low as 25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind 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 Paradise and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Paradise last frost occurs after February 15 be ready to cover your stocks in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Paradise

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 Paradise

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