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

It's possible to determine when it's the best time to plant radicchio by checking out the USDA zone info for Santa Maria.

Planting Calendar for Radicchio

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

You can plant radicchio just a bit earlier in the year because they are moderately cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant radicchio in Santa Maria 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 radicchio and expect a good harvest is probably October. Any later than that and your radicchio may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your radicchio indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on February 15 in Santa Maria. It might get as low as 25°F during the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Santa Maria and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Santa Maria last frost occurs after February 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your radicchio in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Santa Maria

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 Maria

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