One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the 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 first opportunity to plant spearmint in Elk River should be estimated by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Spearmint

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

Spearmint can survive in cold weather which means that you can plant them quite a bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant spearmint in Elk River 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 spearmint and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your spearmint may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your spearmint indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on May 15 in Elk River. You can expect an average low temperature of -25°F in the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Elk River and it is different every year. Since half of the time in Elk River last frost occurs after May 15 be ready to cover your spearmint if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Elk River

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 Elk River

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Elk River.