Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out 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 chance to plant kale in Roanoke should be determined by checking out the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Kale

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

Since kale do well in moderate cold you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant kale in Roanoke 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. Any later than that and your kale may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your kale indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Roanoke the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 5°F.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Roanoke and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Roanoke last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to protect your kale in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Roanoke

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	5°F
Highest Expected Low	10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 10°F.

Plants to Grow in Roanoke

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