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.

You can estimate when you can plant shallots in Portsmouth by looking at 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.

Since shallots do ok in moderate cold you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant shallots in Portsmouth 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your shallots may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your shallots indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Portsmouth 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.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Portsmouth is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Portsmouth it frosts late in the year after March 15 be ready to cover your shallots if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Portsmouth

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 Portsmouth

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