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 Riverside you can estimate when you can plant shallots by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Shallots

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

Since shallots are one of those plants that can tolerate a tiny bit of cold weather you can plant them slightly earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant shallots in Riverside 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 shallots and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your shallots may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your shallots indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on February 15 in Riverside. It might get as low as 25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Riverside and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Riverside last frost occurs after February 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your shallots in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Riverside

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 Riverside

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