One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea 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.

One way of getting a good idea when it's possible to plant onions is to consult the USDA zone info for Shenandoah.

Planting Calendar for Onions

Frost tolerance for onions:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Since onions are very cold tolerant you can plant them a lot earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant onions in Shenandoah 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 really do well. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your onions indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Shenandoah. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -10°F.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Shenandoah and it is different every year. Half of the time in Shenandoah last frost occurs after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your onions if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Shenandoah

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-10°F
Highest Expected Low	-5°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 -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Shenandoah

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