When to Plant New Zealand spinach in Harvard, IL

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

By looking at the USDA zone info for Harvard you should be able to estimate when it's the best time to plant new zealand spinach.


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 do well in moderate cold you can plant them a little earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant new zealand spinach
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant new zealand spinach
Probably not a good time to plant new zealand spinach

The earliest that you can plant new zealand spinach in Harvard 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. If you wait any later than that and your new zealand spinach may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your new zealand spinach indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Harvard. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Harvard is just an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Harvard there is a last frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your new zealand spinach if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Harvard

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-15°F
Highest Expected Low-10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Harvard

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