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

A common way of figuring out when it's the best time to plant nigella is to look at the USDA zone info for Zone 3b.

Planting Calendar for Nigella

Frost tolerance for nigella:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

You can plant nigella a lot earlier in the year because they are very cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant nigella in Zone 3b 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 nigella and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your nigella may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your nigella indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Zone 3b the average date of last frost happens on May 15. You can expect an average low temperature of -35°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Zone 3b is not always accurate the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Zone 3b there is a last frost after May 15 be ready to cover your nigella in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Zone 3b

Here is the info for USDA Zone 3b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-35°F
Highest Expected Low	-30°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -35°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -30°F.

Plants to Grow in Zone 3b

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Zone 3b.