When to Plant Kale in Destin, FL

One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Destin can be used to figure out when 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.

Kale do well in some cold which means that you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

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

The earliest that you can plant kale in Destin is February. However, you really should wait until March if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant kale and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your kale may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your kale indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Destin. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Destin is not always accurate the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Destin you get surprised by a frost after March 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your kale if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Destin

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)November 15
Lowest Expected Low15°F
Highest Expected Low20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Destin

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