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.

A way of figuring out when to plant spearmint is to consult the USDA zone info for Hawthorne.

Planting Calendar for Spearmint

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

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

The earliest that you can plant spearmint in Hawthorne 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 spearmint and expect a good harvest is probably October. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your spearmint may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your spearmint indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is January 31 in Hawthorne. You should expect an average low temperature of 35°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Hawthorne may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Hawthorne you get surprised by a frost after January 31 be ready to cover your spearmint if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Hawthorne

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	35°F
Highest Expected Low	40°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 40°F.

Plants to Grow in Hawthorne

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