One of the first steps you take when you are estimating your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By checking out the USDA zone info for Santa Fe you will be able to estimate when it's a good idea to plant rock cress.

Planting Calendar for Rock Cress

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

Since rock cress are very cold tolerant 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 rock cress in Santa Fe 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 rock cress and expect a good harvest is probably October. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your rock cress may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your rock cress indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on February 15 in Santa Fe. You can expect an average low temperature of 20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Santa Fe is not always accurate the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Santa Fe there is a last frost after February 15 so always be ready to protect your rock cress if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Santa Fe

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	20°F
Highest Expected Low	25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 25°F.

Plants to Grow in Santa Fe

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Santa Fe.