Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. 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 strawberries in Santa Barbara can be figured out by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Strawberries

Frost tolerance for strawberries:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Strawberries are very cold tolerant which means that you can plant them a quite a bit earlier than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant strawberries 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 strawberries and expect a good harvest is probably October. If you wait any later than that and your strawberries may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your strawberries 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.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Santa Barbara may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit 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 cover your strawberries if you have 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.