One of the first steps you take when you are determining 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.

The first chance to plant red cabbage in Iowa City should be determined by checking out the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Red cabbage

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

Red cabbage tend to make it in a bit of cold which means that you can plant them earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant red cabbage in Iowa City 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 red cabbage and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your red cabbage may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your red cabbage indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Iowa City. You can expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Iowa City is an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Iowa City you get a frost after April 15 so always be ready to cover your red cabbage in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Iowa City

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-15°F
Highest Expected Low	-10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Iowa City

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Iowa City.