One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate 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.

By checking out the USDA zone info for Santa Monica it's possible to determine when to plant broccoli.

Planting Calendar for Broccoli

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

Broccoli do well in moderate cold which means that you can get them planted earlier than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant broccoli in Santa Monica 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 broccoli and expect a good harvest is probably October. If you wait any later than that and your broccoli may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your broccoli indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Santa Monica the average date of last frost happens on January 31. You should expect an average low temperature of 35°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Santa Monica is an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Santa Monica there is a last frost after January 31 be ready to cover your broccoli if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Santa Monica

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	35°F
Highest Expected Low	40°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 35°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 40°F.

Plants to Grow in Santa Monica

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