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.

A common way of estimating when it's a good idea to plant chives is to use the USDA zone info for San Juan.

Planting Calendar for Chives

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

Chives can survive in pretty solid cold which means that you can plant them earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant chives in San Juan is January. However, you really should wait until February if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant chives and expect a good harvest is probably October. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your chives may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your chives indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in San Juan. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 25°F.

Since the USDA zone info for San Juan is just an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in San Juan there is a last frost after February 15 so always be ready to cover your chives in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for San Juan

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 San Juan

You may be interested in your other planting guides for San Juan.