The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By referring to the USDA zone info for Shafter it's a good idea to figure out when you can plant chives.

Planting Calendar for Chives

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

Chives do well in a bit of cold which means that you can plant them earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant chives in Shafter 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 chives and expect a good harvest is probably October. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your chives may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your chives indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Shafter. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 20°F.

Remember that USDA zone info for Shafter may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Shafter last frost occurs after February 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your chives if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Shafter

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	20°F
Highest Expected Low	25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 25°F.

Plants to Grow in Shafter

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Shafter.