One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Merrill you can estimate when to plant spinach by looking at 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.

Since spinach are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather you can plant them a little earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant spinach in Merrill 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. Any later than that and your spinach may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your spinach indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on May 15 in Merrill. It might get as low as -30°F during the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Merrill is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Merrill you get a frost after May 15 be ready to cover your spinach in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Merrill

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-30°F
Highest Expected Low	-25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -30°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -25°F.

Plants to Grow in Merrill

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