When to Plant Kale in Roanoke Rapids, NC

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Roanoke Rapids you can estimate when it's possible to plant kale by referring to the USDA zone info.


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 a bit earlier in the year because they do well in moderate cold.

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 Roanoke Rapids 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your kale may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your kale indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Roanoke Rapids is just an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Roanoke Rapids last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to cover your kale if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Roanoke Rapids

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 Roanoke Rapids

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Roanoke Rapids.