One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate 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.

A way of figuring out when it's the best time to plant jerusalem artichokes is to examine the USDA zone info for Odessa.

Planting Calendar for Jerusalem artichokes

Frost tolerance for jerusalem artichokes:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Jerusalem artichokes do well in moderate cold which tells us that you can plant them a little bit earlier than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant jerusalem artichokes in Odessa 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 jerusalem artichokes and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your jerusalem artichokes may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your jerusalem artichokes indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Odessa. You should expect an average low temperature of 10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Odessa may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Odessa last frost occurs after March 15 be ready to cover your jerusalem artichokes if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Odessa

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 Odessa

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