One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about 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.

A way of estimating when it's possible to plant shallots is to refer to the USDA zone info for Cobleskill.

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.

Since shallots are barely cold tolerant you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant shallots in Cobleskill 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 fully mature. If you are starting your shallots indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Cobleskill. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Cobleskill is an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Cobleskill there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to protect your shallots in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Cobleskill

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-15°F
Highest Expected Low	-10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Cobleskill

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