One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about your gardening schedule is find your 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.

You should be able to figure out when it's possible to plant red cabbage by reviewing the USDA zone info for Shafter.

Planting Calendar for Red cabbage

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

Since red cabbage are one of those plants that can tolerate quite a bit of cold weather you can plant them much earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant red 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 red cabbage and expect a good harvest is probably October. If you wait any later than that and your red cabbage may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your red cabbage indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Shafter the average date of last frost happens on February 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 20°F.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Shafter is just an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Shafter you get a frost after February 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your red cabbage in the event of a surprise 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.