When to Plant New Zealand spinach in Chesapeake, VA

One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea 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.

By referring to the USDA zone info for Chesapeake you should be able to estimate when you can plant new zealand spinach.


Planting Calendar for New Zealand spinach

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

You can plant new zealand spinach a little earlier in the year because they do well in moderate cold.

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

The earliest that you can plant new zealand spinach in Chesapeake 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 new zealand spinach and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your new zealand spinach may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your new zealand spinach indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Chesapeake the average date of last frost happens on March 15. You should expect an average low temperature of 10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Chesapeake and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Chesapeake it frosts late in the year after March 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your new zealand spinach in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Chesapeake

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)November 15
Lowest Expected Low10°F
Highest Expected Low15°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 15°F.

Plants to Grow in Chesapeake

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