One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

You can determine when to plant nigella in Salinas by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Nigella

Frost tolerance for nigella:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Nigella tend to make it in quite a bit of cold which tells us that you can plant them quite a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

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

The last month that you can plant nigella and expect a good harvest is probably October. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your nigella may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your nigella indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on February 15 in Salinas. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 25°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Salinas is just an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Salinas you get surprised by a frost after February 15 be ready to cover your nigella if you have a surprise late frost.

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.