One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine 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 using the USDA zone info for Marion you should be able to figure out when you can plant kale.

Planting Calendar for Kale

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

You can plant kale just a bit earlier in the year because they are moderately cold tolerant.

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

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Marion. You can expect an average low temperature of -20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure 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 Marion and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Marion there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to cover your kale if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Marion

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-20°F
Highest Expected Low	-15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -15°F.

Plants to Grow in Marion

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