When to Plant Napa cabbage in Salinas, CA

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Salinas you can figure out when it's a good idea to plant napa cabbage by referring to the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Napa cabbage

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

Napa cabbage are very cold tolerant which tells us that you can get them planted much earlier than other frost tender plants.

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 Salinas 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. Any later than that and your napa cabbage may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your napa cabbage indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on February 15 in Salinas. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 25°F.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Salinas and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Salinas there is a last frost after February 15 be ready to cover your napa cabbage in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Salinas

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 Salinas

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