One of the first steps you take when you are determining your gardening schedule is find your 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.

It's possible to determine when it's a good idea to plant chives by looking at the USDA zone info for Margate.

Planting Calendar for Chives

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

You can plant chives much earlier in the year because they are very cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant chives in Margate 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. Any later than that and your chives may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your chives indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on January 31 in Margate. You should expect an average low temperature of 35°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Margate may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Margate you get a frost after January 31 so make sure that you are ready to cover your chives if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Margate

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 Margate

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