Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By looking at the USDA zone info for Dowagiac you should be able to determine when to plant leeks.

Planting Calendar for Leeks

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

Since leeks are very cold tolerant you can plant them earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant leeks in Dowagiac 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 grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your leeks indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Dowagiac. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Dowagiac is an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Dowagiac last frost occurs after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your leeks if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Dowagiac

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 Dowagiac

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