One of the first steps you take when you are determining your gardening schedule is find your 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.

It's possible to estimate when it's the best time to plant spinach by referring to the USDA zone info for Bend.

Planting Calendar for Spinach

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

Since spinach are moderately cold tolerant you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant spinach in Bend 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. Any later than that and your spinach may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your spinach indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Bend. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -5°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Bend is not always accurate the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Bend it frosts late in the year after April 15 be ready to protect your spinach in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Bend

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 Low	0°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 Bend

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