Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Estherville you can figure out when it's the best time to plant spearmint by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Spearmint

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

Since spearmint do well in cold you can plant them a lot earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant spearmint in Estherville 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 spearmint and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your spearmint may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your spearmint indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Estherville the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as -20°F during the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Estherville and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Estherville last frost occurs after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your spearmint if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Estherville

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 Estherville

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