One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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.

One way of determining when it's a good idea to plant chicory is to use the USDA zone info for San Diego.

Planting Calendar for Chicory

Frost tolerance for chicory:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Since chicory are moderately cold tolerant you can plant them a little earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant chicory in San Diego 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 chicory and expect a good harvest is probably October. If you wait any later than that and your chicory may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your chicory indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In San Diego the average date of last frost happens on January 31. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 35°F.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for San Diego and it changes from year to year. Since half of the time in San Diego you get surprised by a frost after January 31 be ready to cover your chicory if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for San Diego

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	35°F
Highest Expected Low	40°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 35°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 40°F.

Plants to Grow in San Diego

You may be interested in your other planting guides for San Diego.