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

The first chance to plant salsify in Portola Valley should be figured out by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Salsify

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

Salsify tend to make it in very little cold which tells us that you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant salsify in Portola Valley 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 salsify and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your salsify may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your salsify indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is January 31 in Portola Valley. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 30°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Portola Valley is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Portola Valley you get a frost after January 31 so be sure to be ready to protect your salsify if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Portola Valley

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	30°F
Highest Expected Low	35°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 30°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 35°F.

Plants to Grow in Portola Valley

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Portola Valley.