Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

It's a good idea to figure out when you can plant nigella by using the USDA zone info for Smithville.

Planting Calendar for Nigella

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

You can plant nigella much earlier in the year because they are very cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant nigella in Smithville 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your nigella may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your nigella indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Smithville the average date of last frost happens on March 15. You should expect an average low temperature of 15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Smithville may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Smithville it frosts late in the year after March 15 be ready to protect your nigella if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Smithville

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Smithville

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