The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for South Portland can be used to determine when to plant red cabbage.

Planting Calendar for Red cabbage

Frost tolerance for red cabbage:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Red cabbage do well in cold which tells us that you can start planting them much earlier than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant red cabbage in South Portland 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 red cabbage and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your red cabbage may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your red cabbage indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In South Portland the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for South Portland is just an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in South Portland last frost occurs after April 15 so always be ready to cover your red cabbage in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for South Portland

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 South Portland

You may be interested in your other planting guides for South Portland.