When to Plant Kale in Big Lake, MN

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of making a decision about when it's possible to plant kale is to examine the USDA zone info for Big Lake.


Planting Calendar for Kale

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

Kale do ok in moderate cold which tells us that you can plant them a little earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant kale
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant kale
Probably not a good time to plant kale

The earliest that you can plant kale in Big Lake is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant kale and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your kale may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your kale indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Big Lake the average date of last frost happens on May 15. It might get as low as -25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that USDA zone info for Big Lake is an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Big Lake you get a frost after May 15 be ready to protect your kale if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Big Lake

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)September 15
Lowest Expected Low-25°F
Highest Expected Low-20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -20°F.

Plants to Grow in Big Lake

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Big Lake.