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.

In Franklin you can estimate when it's a good idea to plant shallots by referring to 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.

Shallots do ok in moderate cold which means that you can get them planted just a bit earlier than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant shallots in Franklin 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. If you wait any later than that and your shallots may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your shallots indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Franklin the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Franklin is just an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Franklin there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to protect your shallots in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Franklin

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-15°F
Highest Expected Low	-10°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 -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Franklin

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