One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The first opportunity to plant leeks in Clay can be determined by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Leeks

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

Since leeks do well in cold you can plant them earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant leeks in Clay is February. However, you really should wait until March if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant leeks and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your leeks may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your leeks indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Clay. You can expect an average low temperature of 5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Clay is not always accurate the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Clay you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your leeks in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Clay

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	5°F
Highest Expected Low	10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 10°F.

Plants to Grow in Clay

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