When to Plant Kale in Stratford, NJ

The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

You can determine when it's a good idea to plant kale in Stratford 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 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 Stratford 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 grow to maturity. Starting your kale indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Stratford. It might get as low as 0°F during the coldest months of winter.

Remember that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Stratford and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Stratford last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to cover your kale in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Stratford

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 Low0°F
Highest Expected Low5°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 Stratford

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