One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about your gardening schedule is find your 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 Rochester you can determine when it's a good idea to plant cabbage by checking out the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Cabbage

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

Since cabbage are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather you can plant them a little bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant cabbage in Rochester 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 cabbage and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your cabbage may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your cabbage indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Rochester. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Rochester and it is different every year. Since half of the time in Rochester you get a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your cabbage if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Rochester

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 Rochester

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