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.

In Albany you can determine when it's the best time to plant red cabbage by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Red cabbage

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

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

The earliest that you can plant red cabbage in Albany 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 red cabbage and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your red cabbage may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your red cabbage indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Albany and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Albany there is a last frost after March 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your red cabbage in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Albany

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 Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°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 Albany

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