One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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.

You can determine when you can plant shallots in Chesapeake by checking out the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Shallots

Frost tolerance for shallots:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

You can plant shallots a bit earlier in the year because they do ok in moderate cold.

The earliest that you can plant shallots in Chesapeake is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

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

Last Frost Date

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

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Chesapeake and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Chesapeake last frost occurs after March 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your shallots in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Chesapeake

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 Chesapeake

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