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

In Martinez you can determine when it's possible to plant kale by reviewing 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 little earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant kale in Martinez 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. 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 Martinez. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 25°F.

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

USDA Zone Info for Martinez

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 Martinez

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