Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The first opportunity to plant napa cabbage in Washington should be figured out by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Napa cabbage

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

Since napa cabbage do well in cold you can plant them much earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant napa cabbage in Washington 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 napa cabbage and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your napa cabbage may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your napa cabbage indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Washington the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Washington is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Washington it frosts late in the year after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your napa cabbage if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Washington

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 Washington

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