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

The first opportunity to plant leeks in Normal can be determined by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Leeks

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

Leeks can survive in cold weather which tells us that you can plant them much earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant leeks in Normal 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 leeks and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your leeks may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your leeks 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 Normal. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Normal is just an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Normal you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your leeks in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Normal

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 Normal

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