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.

A common way of estimating when you can plant decorative kale is to refer to the USDA zone info for Monterey.

Planting Calendar for Decorative Kale

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

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

The earliest that you can plant decorative kale in Monterey 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 decorative kale and expect a good harvest is probably October. Any later than that and your decorative kale may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your decorative kale indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Monterey the average date of last frost happens on January 31. You should expect an average low temperature of 30°F in the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Monterey may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Monterey you get surprised by a frost after January 31 be ready to cover your decorative kale in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Monterey

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 Low	30°F
Highest Expected Low	35°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 Monterey

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