One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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.

You will be able to determine when you can plant leeks by referring to the USDA zone info for Albert Lea.

Planting Calendar for Leeks

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

Leeks do ok in a bit of cold which means that you can plant them much earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant leeks in Albert Lea is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant leeks and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your leeks may not have a chance to grow to maturity. 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

On average all chance of frost has passed is on May 15 in Albert Lea. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -25°F.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Albert Lea and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Albert Lea you get a frost after May 15 be ready to cover your leeks if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Albert Lea

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-25°F
Highest Expected Low	-20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -20°F.

Plants to Grow in Albert Lea

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Albert Lea.