One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By checking out the USDA zone info for Des Moines you will be able to estimate when it's possible to plant napa cabbage.

Planting Calendar for Napa cabbage

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

You can plant napa cabbage much earlier in the year because they are one of those plants that can tolerate quite a bit of cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant napa cabbage in Des Moines 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 napa cabbage and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your napa cabbage may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your napa cabbage indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Des Moines. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Des Moines is not always accurate the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Des Moines you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your napa cabbage if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Des Moines

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-15°F
Highest Expected Low	-10°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 -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Des Moines

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Des Moines.