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.

A way of estimating when to plant kale is to refer to the USDA zone info for Medford.

Planting Calendar for Kale

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

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

The earliest that you can plant kale in Medford 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. If you wait any later than that and your kale may not have a chance to fully mature. 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 Medford. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -5°F.

Remember that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Medford and it changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Medford last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to cover your kale if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Medford

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-5°F
Highest Expected Low	0°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 0°F.

Plants to Grow in Medford

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