One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about 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.

In Independence you can determine when to plant leeks by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Leeks

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

Leeks can survive in quite a bit of cold which means that you can plant them much earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant leeks in Independence 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. 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 little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Independence. You can expect an average low temperature of -10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Independence is not always accurate the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Independence it frosts late in the year after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your leeks if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Independence

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 Independence

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