When to Plant Pearl onions in Riverbank, CA

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

You will be able to determine when to plant pearl onions by using the USDA zone info for Riverbank.


Planting Calendar for Pearl onions

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

Since pearl onions are barely cold tolerant you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant pearl onions
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant pearl onions
Probably not a good time to plant pearl onions

The earliest that you can plant pearl onions in Riverbank 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 pearl onions and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your pearl onions may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your pearl onions indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Riverbank is just an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Riverbank there is a last frost after February 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your pearl onions if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Riverbank

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 Low25°F
Highest Expected Low30°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 Riverbank

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