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.

You can determine when it's a good idea to plant eggplants in Mission by looking at 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 is important to wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant eggplants in Mission 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 eggplants and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your eggplants may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your eggplants indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on February 15 in Mission. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 25°F.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Mission is just an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Mission it frosts late in the year after February 15 be ready to cover your eggplants in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Mission

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	25°F
Highest Expected Low	30°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 30°F.

Plants to Grow in Mission

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