One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out your gardening schedule is find your 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 earliest that you can plant spearmint in Independence should be determined by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Spearmint

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

Spearmint are one of those plants that can tolerate quite a bit of cold weather which tells us that you can plant them much earlier than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant spearmint in Independence 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 spearmint and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your spearmint may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your spearmint indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Independence. It might get as low as -10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Independence is not always accurate the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Independence you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your spearmint if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Independence

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 Independence

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