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.

By referring to the USDA zone info for Silver City it's a good idea to estimate when you can plant kale.

Planting Calendar for Kale

Frost tolerance for kale:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Since kale are moderately cold tolerant you can plant them a little earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant kale in Silver City 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. Starting your kale indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on March 15 in Silver City. You should expect an average low temperature of 10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Silver City is just an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Silver City last frost occurs after March 15 be ready to protect your kale if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Silver City

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 15°F.

Plants to Grow in Silver City

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Silver City.