One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the 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.

In The Dalles you can determine when you can plant onions by referring to 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 do well in cold.

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

The last month that you can plant onions and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your onions may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your onions indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on March 15 in The Dalles. It might get as low as 10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for The Dalles is just an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in The Dalles there is a last frost after March 15 be ready to cover your onions in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for The Dalles

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°F

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

Plants to Grow in The Dalles

You may be interested in your other planting guides for The Dalles.