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.

It's a good idea to estimate when you can plant stevia by reviewing the USDA zone info for Salinas.

Planting Calendar for Stevia

Frost tolerance for stevia:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost has passed.

It's a bad idea to plant stevia until after the last frost because they require warm weather.

The earliest that you can plant stevia 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 stevia and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your stevia may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your stevia indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Salinas. In the coldest months of winter you should 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 will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Salinas you get a frost after February 15 so always be ready to protect your stevia in the event of 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.