Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Riverdale you can determine when to plant flowering kale by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Flowering Kale

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

You can plant flowering kale a bit earlier in the year because they do well in moderate cold.

The earliest that you can plant flowering kale in Riverdale 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 flowering kale and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your flowering kale may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your flowering kale indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on March 15 in Riverdale. You should expect an average low temperature of 10°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 Riverdale and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Riverdale last frost occurs after March 15 so always be ready to protect your flowering kale in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Riverdale

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 15°F.

Plants to Grow in Riverdale

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