One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of getting a good idea when it's possible to plant watercress is to check out the USDA zone info for Shasta Lake.

Planting Calendar for Watercress

Frost tolerance for watercress:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Since watercress are barely cold tolerant you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant watercress in Shasta Lake is February. However, you really should wait until March if you don't want to take any chances.

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

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Shasta Lake is an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Shasta Lake you get a frost after February 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your watercress if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Shasta Lake

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 Shasta Lake

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Shasta Lake.