Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Franklin Park you can determine when it's a good idea to plant kale by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Kale

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

Kale do well in some cold which means that you can plant them a little bit earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant kale in Franklin Park 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 really do well. If you are starting your kale indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Franklin Park. You should expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Franklin Park is an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Franklin Park there is a last frost after April 15 so always be ready to protect your kale in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Franklin Park

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 Franklin Park

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Franklin Park.