One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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.

By reviewing the USDA zone info for Watsonville it's a good idea to figure out when it's a good idea to plant endive.

Planting Calendar for Endive

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

Since endive do well in moderate cold you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant endive in Watsonville 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 endive and expect a good harvest is probably October. Any later than that and your endive may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your endive 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 Watsonville. You should expect an average low temperature of 25°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Watsonville may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Watsonville you get a frost after February 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your endive in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Watsonville

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 Watsonville

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