When to Plant Leeks in Salem, IL

One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out 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.

You can determine when it's a good idea to plant leeks in Salem by checking out 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 do well in quite a bit of cold which tells us that you can plant them a lot earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant leeks
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant leeks
Probably not a good time to plant leeks

The earliest that you can plant leeks in Salem 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. Any later than that and your leeks may not have a chance to fully mature. 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

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Salem. You should expect an average low temperature of -10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Salem is just an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Salem there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to cover your leeks if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Salem

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-10°F
Highest Expected Low-5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Salem

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