One of the first steps you take when you are determining your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Ridgecrest you can determine when to plant chicory by checking out the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Chicory

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

Chicory are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather which means that you can plant them a little bit earlier than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant chicory in Ridgecrest 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 chicory and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your chicory may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your chicory indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on March 15 in Ridgecrest. You can expect an average low temperature of 15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Ridgecrest is not always accurate the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Ridgecrest last frost occurs after March 15 be ready to cover your chicory if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Ridgecrest

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Ridgecrest

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