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.

The first chance to plant chinese cabbage in Salem can be determined by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Chinese cabbage

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

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

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

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Salem. You can expect an average low temperature of -10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Salem is not always accurate the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Salem last frost occurs after April 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your chinese cabbage in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Salem

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-10°F
Highest Expected Low	-5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Salem

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