When to Plant Spinach in Columbus, NE

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. 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 Columbus should be read to figure out when it's a good idea to plant spinach.


Planting Calendar for Spinach

Frost tolerance for spinach: Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant: Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Spinach tend to make it in a little bit of cold which tells us that you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant spinach
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant spinach
Probably not a good time to plant spinach

The earliest that you can plant spinach in Columbus 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 spinach and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your spinach may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your spinach indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Columbus the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Remember that USDA zone info for Columbus is just an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Columbus you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your spinach in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Columbus

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 Columbus

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