One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out 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.

In Hanover Park you can determine when it's possible to plant kale by checking out 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.

Since kale are moderately cold tolerant you can plant them a little earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant kale in Hanover 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. Any later than that and 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 Hanover Park. You can expect an average low temperature of -15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Hanover Park is just an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Hanover Park last frost occurs after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your kale in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Hanover 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 Hanover Park

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