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.

In Santa Barbara you can figure out when to plant alternaria by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Alternaria

Frost tolerance for alternaria:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

It's a bad idea to plant alternaria until after the last frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant alternaria in Santa Barbara 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 alternaria and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your alternaria may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your alternaria indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is January 31 in Santa Barbara. It might get as low as 30°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Santa Barbara and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Santa Barbara you get a frost after January 31 so be sure to be ready to protect your alternaria in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Santa Barbara

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	30°F
Highest Expected Low	35°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 30°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 35°F.

Plants to Grow in Santa Barbara

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Santa Barbara.