When to Plant Napa cabbage in Watchung, NJ

One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The first chance to plant napa cabbage in Watchung should be determined by referring to the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Napa cabbage

Frost tolerance for napa cabbage: Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant: Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Since napa cabbage are one of those plants that can tolerate quite a bit of cold weather you can plant them much earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

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

The earliest that you can plant napa cabbage in Watchung 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 napa cabbage and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your napa cabbage may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your napa cabbage indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Watchung the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as -5°F during the coldest months of winter.

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 Watchung and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Watchung last frost occurs after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your napa cabbage if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Watchung

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 Watchung

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