One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine 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.

In Shelby you can figure out when it's a good idea 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 are one of those plants that can tolerate quite a bit of cold weather which tells us that you can get them planted much earlier than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant leeks in Shelby 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. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your leeks indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Shelby the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -10°F.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Shelby is just an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Shelby last frost occurs after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your leeks if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Shelby

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 Shelby

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