One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Santa Clara you can figure out when it's a good idea to plant alternaria by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Alternaria

Frost tolerance for alternaria:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost has passed.

Alternaria do not do well in cold weather which means that it is important to wait until it warms up after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant alternaria in Santa Clara is April. However, you really should wait until May if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant alternaria and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your alternaria may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your alternaria indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Santa Clara the average date of last frost happens on March 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 10°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Santa Clara is just an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Santa Clara you get a frost after March 15 so always be ready to cover your alternaria in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Santa Clara

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 Santa Clara

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