One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about 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.

By reviewing the USDA zone info for Santa Barbara you will be able to determine when it's the best time to plant bok choi.

Planting Calendar for Bok Choi

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

Bok Choi do ok in some cold which tells us that you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant bok choi in Santa Barbara 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 bok choi and expect a good harvest is probably October. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your bok choi may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your bok choi indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is January 31 in Santa Barbara. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 30°F.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Santa Barbara and it is different every year. Since half of the time in Santa Barbara you get a frost after January 31 be ready to protect your bok choi in the event of a 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.