One of the first steps you take when you are determining your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Waterville you can estimate when it's the best time to plant leeks by using 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 tend to make it in a bit of cold which tells us that you can plant them a lot earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant leeks in Waterville 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else 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 couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Waterville. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -20°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Waterville may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Waterville you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your leeks in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Waterville

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-20°F
Highest Expected Low	-15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -15°F.

Plants to Grow in Waterville

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