When to Plant Kale in Middlesex, NJ

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of making a decision about when you can plant kale is to check out the USDA zone info for Middlesex.


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 little earlier in the year because they are moderately cold tolerant.

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 Middlesex 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. If you wait any later than that and 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

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Middlesex. You should expect an average low temperature of -5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Middlesex is an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Middlesex there is a last frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your kale if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Middlesex

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 Low0°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 Middlesex

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