When to Plant Watercress in Riverbank, CA

One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the 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.

The best time to plant watercress in Riverbank should be determined by checking out the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Watercress

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

Watercress can survive in very little cold which means that you can plant them just a tiny bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

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

The earliest that you can plant watercress 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 watercress and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your watercress may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your watercress indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Riverbank. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 25°F.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Riverbank and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Riverbank you get surprised by a frost after February 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your watercress 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.