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

The USDA zone info for Washington can be reviewed to determine when it's the best time to plant spinach.

Planting Calendar for Spinach

Frost tolerance for spinach:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Spinach are moderately cold tolerant which tells us that you can plant them a little bit earlier than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant spinach in Washington 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 spinach and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your spinach may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your spinach indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Washington is just an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Washington last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to cover your spinach in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Washington

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 Washington

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