One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the 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.

In Culpeper you can estimate when it's the best time to plant eggplants by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Eggplants

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

Since eggplants are not cold tolerant you need to wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant eggplants in Culpeper 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 eggplants and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your eggplants may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your eggplants indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Culpeper. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 0°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Culpeper is just an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Culpeper it frosts late in the year after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your eggplants in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Culpeper

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	0°F
Highest Expected Low	5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 0°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 5°F.

Plants to Grow in Culpeper

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