Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

You should be able to estimate when it's the best time to plant shallots by referring to the USDA zone info for Altoona.

Planting Calendar for Shallots

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

You can plant shallots just a tiny bit earlier in the year because they are barely cold tolerant.

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

The last month that you can plant shallots and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your shallots may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your shallots 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 April 15 in Altoona. You should expect an average low temperature of -20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Altoona is just an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Altoona there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to protect your shallots if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Altoona

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-20°F
Highest Expected Low	-15°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 -15°F.

Plants to Grow in Altoona

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