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.

A common way of getting a good idea when it's possible to plant jerusalem artichokes is to consult the USDA zone info for San Francisco.

Planting Calendar for Jerusalem artichokes

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

Jerusalem artichokes tend to make it in a little bit of cold which means that you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant jerusalem artichokes in San Francisco 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 jerusalem artichokes and expect a good harvest is probably October. Any later than that and your jerusalem artichokes may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your jerusalem artichokes indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on January 31 in San Francisco. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 35°F.

Since the USDA zone info for San Francisco is an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in San Francisco there is a last frost after January 31 so always be ready to protect your jerusalem artichokes if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for San Francisco

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 Francisco

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