One of the first steps you take when you are determining your gardening schedule is find your 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.

You should be able to figure out when you can plant shallots by reviewing the USDA zone info for San Luis Obispo.

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 ok in a tiny bit of cold which tells us that you can plant them slightly earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant shallots in San Luis Obispo 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. If you wait any later than that and your shallots may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your shallots indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in San Luis Obispo. It might get as low as 25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for San Luis Obispo is not always accurate the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in San Luis Obispo there is a last frost after February 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your shallots if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for San Luis Obispo

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 Luis Obispo

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