One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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.

In Sparta you can estimate when it's possible to plant spearmint by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Spearmint

Frost tolerance for spearmint:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Spearmint do ok in a bit of cold which tells us that you can plant them much earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant spearmint in Sparta 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 spearmint and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your spearmint may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your spearmint indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on May 15 in Sparta. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -25°F.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Sparta and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Sparta last frost occurs after May 15 be ready to cover your spearmint if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Sparta

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 Sparta

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