When to Plant Napa cabbage in Napa, CA

One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the 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.

By referring to the USDA zone info for Napa it's a good idea to determine when it's the best time to plant napa cabbage.


Planting Calendar for Napa cabbage

Frost tolerance for napa cabbage: Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant: Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

You can plant napa cabbage much earlier in the year because they are one of those plants that can tolerate quite a bit of cold weather.

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

The earliest that you can plant napa cabbage in Napa 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 napa cabbage and expect a good harvest is probably October. If you wait any later than that and your napa cabbage may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your napa cabbage indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Napa the average date of last frost happens on February 15. You should expect an average low temperature of 25°F in the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Napa and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Napa you get a frost after February 15 be ready to cover your napa cabbage if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Napa

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 Low25°F
Highest Expected Low30°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 Napa

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