One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

You can estimate when it's possible to plant nigella in Athens by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Nigella

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

Nigella can survive in a bit of cold which means that you can plant them a lot earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant nigella in Athens 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 nigella and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your nigella may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your nigella indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Athens the average date of last frost happens on March 15. It might get as low as 10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Athens and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Athens you get surprised by a frost after March 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your nigella if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Athens

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 Athens

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