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 it's the best time to plant kale is to check out the USDA zone info for Bakersfield.

Planting Calendar for Kale

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

Kale can survive in mild cold which tells us that you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant kale in Bakersfield 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. 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 few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on February 15 in Bakersfield. You should expect an average low temperature of 25°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Bakersfield may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Bakersfield last frost occurs after February 15 be ready to cover your kale in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Bakersfield

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 Bakersfield

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