One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the 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.

A common way of making a decision about when it's a good idea to plant new zealand spinach is to consult the USDA zone info for Lake Forest.

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 one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather you can plant them a little earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant new zealand spinach in Lake Forest 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 fully mature. If you are starting your new zealand spinach indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Lake Forest and it is different every year. Half of the time in Lake Forest there is a last frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your new zealand spinach in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Lake Forest

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 Lake Forest

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Lake Forest.