One of the first steps you take when you are determining 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.

By checking out the USDA zone info for Birmingham it's possible to estimate when you can plant leeks.

Planting Calendar for Leeks

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

Leeks are one of those plants that can tolerate quite a bit of cold weather which means that you can plant them much earlier than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant leeks in Birmingham 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 fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your leeks indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Birmingham is an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Birmingham there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to protect your leeks in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Birmingham

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 Birmingham

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