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.

By looking at the USDA zone info for Salem it's possible to determine when to plant stocks.

Planting Calendar for Stocks

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

Stocks are one of those plants that can tolerate a tiny bit of cold weather which means that you can plant them slightly earlier than other plants that might not handle the cold.

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

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Salem is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Salem you get surprised by a frost after March 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your stocks in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Salem

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°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 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Salem

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