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

You should be able to determine when to plant spearmint by using the USDA zone info for Ukiah.

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 quite a bit 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 Ukiah 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. Starting your spearmint indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Ukiah the average date of last frost happens on February 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 20°F.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Ukiah and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Ukiah last frost occurs after February 15 be ready to protect your spearmint in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Ukiah

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	20°F
Highest Expected Low	25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 25°F.

Plants to Grow in Ukiah

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