The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of determining when to plant kale is to consult the USDA zone info for Hoffman Estates.

Planting Calendar for Kale

Frost tolerance for kale:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

You can plant kale a bit earlier in the year because they are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant kale in Hoffman Estates 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 kale and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your kale may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your kale indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Hoffman Estates. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Hoffman Estates is just an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Hoffman Estates you get a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your kale in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Hoffman Estates

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 Hoffman Estates

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Hoffman Estates.