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.

It's possible to estimate when it's possible to plant shallots by looking at the USDA zone info for Salem.

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 slightly earlier in the year because they do ok in moderate cold.

The earliest that you can plant shallots in Salem 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your shallots may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your shallots indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Salem the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You should expect an average low temperature of -5°F in the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Salem may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Salem it frosts late in the year after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your shallots in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Salem

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-5°F
Highest Expected Low	0°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 0°F.

Plants to Grow in Salem

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