One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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.

The first chance to plant parsley in Santa Barbara can be determined by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Parsley

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

Since parsley are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

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

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is January 31 in Santa Barbara. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 30°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 Santa Barbara and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Santa Barbara last frost occurs after January 31 so always be ready to cover your parsley in the event of one of those late frosts.

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.