The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By referring to the USDA zone info for San Jose it's possible to estimate when it's the best time to plant shallots.

Planting Calendar for Shallots

Frost tolerance for shallots:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Shallots do well in a tiny bit of cold which means that you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant shallots in San Jose is February. However, you really should wait until March if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant shallots and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your shallots may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your shallots indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for San Jose and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in San Jose there is a last frost after February 15 be ready to cover your shallots if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for San Jose

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 San Jose

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