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.

The earliest that you can plant spinach in Altoona can be determined by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Spinach

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

Spinach can survive in moderate cold which tells us that you can plant them a little bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant spinach in Altoona is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant spinach and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your spinach may not have a chance to grow to maturity. 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

In Altoona the average date of last frost happens on May 15. It might get as low as -25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Altoona is an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Altoona last frost occurs after May 15 be ready to protect your spinach in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Altoona

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-25°F
Highest Expected Low	-20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -20°F.

Plants to Grow in Altoona

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