One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By checking out the USDA zone info for Martinsville it's a good idea to figure out when it's possible to plant kale.

Planting Calendar for Kale

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

Since kale do well in moderate cold you can plant them a little bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant kale in Martinsville 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. Starting your kale indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Martinsville. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -10°F.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Martinsville is just an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Martinsville there is a last frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your kale in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Martinsville

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 Martinsville

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