When to Plant Kale in Johnstown, NY

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.

The earliest that you can plant kale in Johnstown should be figured out 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 do well in moderate cold which means that you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

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 Johnstown 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your kale may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your kale indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Johnstown. It might get as low as -20°F during the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Johnstown is an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Johnstown you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your kale if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Johnstown

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-20°F
Highest Expected Low-15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -15°F.

Plants to Grow in Johnstown

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