When to Plant Kohlrabi in Zone 5a

One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

You should be able to determine when you can plant kohlrabi by looking at the USDA zone info for Zone 5a.


Planting Calendar for Kohlrabi

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

Kohlrabi are moderately cold tolerant which means that you can plant them a little bit earlier than more sensitive plants.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant kohlrabi
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant kohlrabi
Probably not a good time to plant kohlrabi

The earliest that you can plant kohlrabi in Zone 5a 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 kohlrabi and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your kohlrabi may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your kohlrabi indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Zone 5a. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -20°F.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Zone 5a and it changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Zone 5a you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your kohlrabi if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Zone 5a

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-20°F
Highest Expected Low-15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -15°F.

Plants to Grow in Zone 5a

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Zone 5a.