When to Plant Shallots in Columbia, PA

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The first chance to plant shallots in Columbia can be estimated by checking out the USDA zone info.


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.

Shallots can survive in very little cold which means that you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant shallots
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant shallots
Probably not a good time to plant shallots

The earliest that you can plant shallots in Columbia 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. If you wait any later than that and your shallots may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your shallots indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Columbia. It might get as low as -5°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Columbia is an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Columbia last frost occurs after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your shallots in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Columbia

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 Low0°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 Columbia

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