One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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.

You will be able to figure out when it's possible to plant kale by looking at the USDA zone info for Kansas City.

Planting Calendar for Kale

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

Kale can survive in moderate cold which tells us that you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant kale in Kansas City 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. Any later than that and your kale may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your kale indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Kansas City. You can expect an average low temperature of -5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Kansas City is not always accurate the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Kansas City there is a last frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your kale in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Kansas City

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 Kansas City

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Kansas City.