The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The first chance to plant onions in Virginia can be figured out by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Onions

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

You can plant onions a lot earlier in the year because they are one of those plants that can tolerate quite a bit of cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant onions in Virginia 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 onions and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your onions may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your onions indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on May 15 in Virginia. You should expect an average low temperature of -35°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Virginia may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Virginia you get surprised by a frost after May 15 be ready to cover your onions if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Virginia

Here is the info for USDA Zone 3b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-35°F
Highest Expected Low	-30°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 -30°F.

Plants to Grow in Virginia

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