One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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.

The USDA zone info for Visalia can be reffered to in order to determine when it's a good idea to plant spearmint.

Planting Calendar for Spearmint

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

Spearmint tend to make it in a bit of cold which tells us that you can plant them quite a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant spearmint in Visalia 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. Any later than that and your spearmint may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your spearmint indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Visalia the average date of last frost happens on February 15. You can expect an average low temperature of 25°F in the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Visalia and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Visalia there is a last frost after February 15 be ready to protect your spearmint if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Visalia

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	25°F
Highest Expected Low	30°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 30°F.

Plants to Grow in Visalia

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