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

You can estimate when it's possible to plant kale in Rutherford by looking at 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.

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

The earliest that you can plant kale in Rutherford 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 really do well. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your kale indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Rutherford. It might get as low as 0°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Rutherford may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Rutherford you get a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your kale if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Rutherford

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	0°F
Highest Expected Low	5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 0°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 5°F.

Plants to Grow in Rutherford

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