Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By looking at the USDA zone info for Shafter you should be able to determine when it's a good idea 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.

Napa cabbage can survive in cold weather which means that you can plant them earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant napa cabbage in Shafter 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your napa cabbage may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your napa cabbage indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on February 15 in Shafter. You should expect an average low temperature of 20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Shafter may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Shafter you get a frost after February 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your napa cabbage in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Shafter

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	20°F
Highest Expected Low	25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 25°F.

Plants to Grow in Shafter

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