When to Plant Cabbage in Durham, NC

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.

In Durham you can estimate when it's possible to plant cabbage by looking at 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.

You can plant cabbage a bit earlier in the year because they are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather.

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

The earliest that you can plant cabbage in Durham 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 fully mature. Starting your cabbage indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Durham the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 5°F.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Durham and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Durham there is a last frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your cabbage if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Durham

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low5°F
Highest Expected Low10°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 10°F.

Plants to Grow in Durham

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