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.

The USDA zone info for Southgate should be used to estimate when it's possible 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.

Leeks do well in cold which means that you can start planting them much earlier than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant leeks in Southgate 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 fully mature. Starting your leeks indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Southgate the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You can expect an average low temperature of -5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Southgate is just an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Southgate it frosts late in the year after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your leeks in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Southgate

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-5°F
Highest Expected Low	0°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 0°F.

Plants to Grow in Southgate

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