One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out 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.

By looking at the USDA zone info for Gig Harbor you should be able to figure out when you can plant alternaria.

Planting Calendar for Alternaria

Frost tolerance for alternaria:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

It's a bad idea to plant alternaria until after the last frost has passed because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant alternaria in Gig Harbor 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 fully mature. If you are starting your alternaria indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Gig Harbor. You should expect an average low temperature of 15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Gig Harbor is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Gig Harbor last frost occurs after March 15 be ready to cover your alternaria in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Gig Harbor

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 Gig Harbor

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Gig Harbor.