🧅 When to Plant Leeks

🥬 Vegetable
Cool Season

Mild onion flavor; mound soil around stems as they grow to blanch and extend edible shank

📅 Planting Calendar by USDA Zone

Select your zone to highlight your exact planting dates. Dates are calculated from each zone's average frost dates.

Find my zone
Zone Last Frost Start Indoors Transplant Direct Sow
Zone 2A May 30 Mar 21 May 2
Zone 3B May 15 Mar 6 Apr 17
Zone 4A May 8 Feb 27 Apr 10
Zone 4B May 1 Feb 20 Apr 3
Zone 5A Apr 25 Feb 14 Mar 28
Zone 5B Apr 18 Feb 7 Mar 21
Zone 6A Apr 21 Feb 10 Mar 24
Zone 6B Apr 10 Jan 30 Mar 13
Zone 7A Apr 5 Jan 25 Mar 8
Zone 7B Mar 28 Jan 17 Feb 28
Zone 8A Mar 20 Jan 9 Feb 20
Zone 8B Mar 12 Jan 1 Feb 12
Zone 9A Feb 28 Dec 20 Jan 31
Zone 9B Feb 15 Dec 7 Jan 18
Zone 10A Feb 1 Nov 23 Jan 4
Zone 10B Jan 15 Nov 6 Dec 18
Zone 11A Jan 1 Oct 23 Dec 4

Leeks are the mildest, most cold-hardy member of the allium family. They can overwinter in the ground in zones 5+ and provide harvests well into winter when other crops have finished.

Top Growing Tips

  • Start indoors 10-12 weeks before last frost — one of the earliest starts needed
  • Transplant into narrow holes 6 inches deep; drop seedling in and let soil fill naturally
  • Mound soil around the shank as plants grow to blanch and lengthen the white portion
  • Tolerates light freeze and can be mulched to extend harvest into December
  • Harvest after first frost for the sweetest, most complex flavor

Companion Planting

Good companions: carrots, celery, onions, brassicas

Avoid planting near: legumes (beans, peas)

Harvest Timeline

100-120 days from transplant; harvest when shank is 1 inch or more in diameter