One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of getting a good idea when it's the best time to plant peanut is to use the USDA zone info for Santa Cruz.

Planting Calendar for Peanut

Frost tolerance for peanut:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost has passed.

It's not a good idea to plant peanut until after all chance of frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant peanut in Santa Cruz is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant peanut and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your peanut may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your peanut indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Santa Cruz. You can expect an average low temperature of 25°F in 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 Cruz and it is different every year. Half of the time in Santa Cruz it frosts late in the year after February 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your peanut if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Santa Cruz

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 Santa Cruz

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