One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea 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.

You should be able to figure out when you can plant kale by looking at the USDA zone info for Youngtown.

Planting Calendar for Kale

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

Since kale are moderately cold tolerant you can plant them a little bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant kale in Youngtown is January. However, you really should wait until February if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant kale and expect a good harvest is probably October. If you wait any later than that and your kale may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your kale indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on February 15 in Youngtown. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 25°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Youngtown is just an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Youngtown you get surprised by a frost after February 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your kale in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Youngtown

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	25°F
Highest Expected Low	30°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 30°F.

Plants to Grow in Youngtown

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