One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the 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.

It's possible to figure out when it's a good idea to plant kale by referring to the USDA zone info for Waterloo.

Planting Calendar for Kale

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

Since kale are moderately cold tolerant you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant kale in Waterloo 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. If you are starting your kale indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Waterloo. You should expect an average low temperature of -20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Waterloo is an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Waterloo you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your kale in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Waterloo

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 Waterloo

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