When to Plant Spinach in Berkeley, CA

One of the first steps you take when you are estimating your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

By reviewing the USDA zone info for Berkeley you will be able to figure out when you can plant spinach.


Planting Calendar for Spinach

Frost tolerance for spinach: Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant: Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

You can plant spinach a little earlier in the year because they are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant spinach
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant spinach
Probably not a good time to plant spinach

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

The last month that you can plant spinach and expect a good harvest is probably October. Any later than that and your spinach may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your spinach indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on January 31 in Berkeley. It might get as low as 30°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Berkeley is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Berkeley it frosts late in the year after January 31 so just be sure to be ready to cover your spinach if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Berkeley

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)December 15
Lowest Expected Low30°F
Highest Expected Low35°F

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

Plants to Grow in Berkeley

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