When to Plant Leeks in Washington, NJ

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

It's a good idea to estimate when you can plant leeks by looking at the USDA zone info for Washington.


Planting Calendar for Leeks

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

You can plant leeks much earlier in the year because they are one of those plants that can tolerate quite a bit of cold weather.

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

The earliest that you can plant leeks in Washington 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. 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 Washington. It might get as low as -5°F during the coldest months of winter.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Washington and it is different every year. Since half of the time in Washington you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your leeks if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Washington

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 Low0°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 Washington

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