One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate 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.

The USDA zone info for Rancho Mirage can be read to determine when it's possible to plant kale.

Planting Calendar for Kale

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

Since kale are moderately cold tolerant you can plant them a little earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant kale in Rancho Mirage 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. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your kale indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is February 15 in Rancho Mirage. It might get as low as 25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Rancho Mirage is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Rancho Mirage it frosts late in the year after February 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your kale if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Rancho Mirage

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 Rancho Mirage

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Rancho Mirage.