When to Plant Kale in Duarte, CA

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of getting a good idea when it's possible to plant kale is to check out the USDA zone info for Duarte.


Planting Calendar for Kale

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

Kale do ok in mild cold which means that you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

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

The earliest that you can plant kale in Duarte 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your kale may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your kale indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on January 31 in Duarte. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 30°F.

Remember that USDA zone info for Duarte is an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Duarte there is a last frost after January 31 be ready to protect your kale in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Duarte

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)December 15
Lowest Expected Low30°F
Highest Expected Low35°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 30°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 35°F.

Plants to Grow in Duarte

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