One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about 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 first opportunity to plant kale in Okeechobee should be determined by checking out the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Kale

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

Kale tend to make it in a little bit of cold which tells us that you can plant them a little bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant kale in Okeechobee 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 grow to maturity. If you are starting your kale indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Okeechobee the average date of last frost happens on February 15. You can expect an average low temperature of 25°F in the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Okeechobee and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Okeechobee it frosts late in the year after February 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your kale in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Okeechobee

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 Okeechobee

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