One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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.

The first chance to plant eggplants in Salinas can be estimated by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Eggplants

Frost tolerance for eggplants:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost.

It's probably a bad idea to plant eggplants until after the last frost because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant eggplants in Salinas is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant eggplants and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your eggplants may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your eggplants indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Salinas the average date of last frost happens on February 15. You should expect an average low temperature of 25°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Salinas may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Salinas last frost occurs after February 15 be ready to cover your eggplants if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Salinas

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 Salinas

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