The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The earliest that you can plant eggplants in Columbia should be figured out by checking out the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Eggplants

Frost tolerance for eggplants:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost has passed.

Since eggplants do not do well in cold weather it's important to wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant eggplants in Columbia is April. However, you really should wait until May if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant eggplants and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your eggplants may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your eggplants indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Columbia. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 0°F.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Columbia and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Columbia last frost occurs after April 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your eggplants if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Columbia

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	0°F
Highest Expected Low	5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 0°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 5°F.

Plants to Grow in Columbia

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