The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of getting a good idea when you can plant new zealand spinach is to look at the USDA zone info for Ames.

Planting Calendar for New Zealand spinach

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

Since new zealand spinach are moderately cold tolerant you can plant them a little bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant new zealand spinach in Ames 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 new zealand spinach and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your new zealand spinach may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your new zealand spinach indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Ames. It might get as low as -20°F during the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Ames is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Ames you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your new zealand spinach if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Ames

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-20°F
Highest Expected Low	-15°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 -15°F.

Plants to Grow in Ames

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