One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea 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.

The earliest that you can plant nicotiana in Tehachapi should be determined by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Nicotiana

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

Since nicotiana do not do well in cold weather you need to wait until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant nicotiana in Tehachapi is April. However, you really should wait until May if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant nicotiana and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your nicotiana may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your nicotiana indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Tehachapi. You can expect an average low temperature of 15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Tehachapi is just an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Tehachapi you get a frost after March 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your nicotiana in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Tehachapi

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Tehachapi

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