One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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 best time to plant kale in East Rockaway should be determined by using 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 are moderately cold tolerant which means that you can start planting them earlier than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant kale in East Rockaway 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. Any later than that and your kale may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your kale indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in East Rockaway. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 5°F.

Since the USDA zone info for East Rockaway is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in East Rockaway last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to cover your kale if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for East Rockaway

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	5°F
Highest Expected Low	10°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 10°F.

Plants to Grow in East Rockaway

You may be interested in your other planting guides for East Rockaway.