One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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.

One way of getting a good idea when it's the best time to plant kale is to examine the USDA zone info for Sanibel.

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 moderate cold which tells us that you can start planting them earlier than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant kale in Sanibel 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 little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Sanibel the average date of last frost happens on January 31. You should expect an average low temperature of 30°F in the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Sanibel and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Sanibel it frosts late in the year after January 31 so always be ready to protect your kale if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Sanibel

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	30°F
Highest Expected Low	35°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 30°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 35°F.

Plants to Grow in Sanibel

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