One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The first chance to plant kale in Mount Vernon can 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.

Since kale are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant kale in Mount Vernon 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 grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your kale indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Mount Vernon. You should expect an average low temperature of 0°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Mount Vernon is not always accurate the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Mount Vernon last frost occurs after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your kale if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Mount Vernon

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 Low	0°F
Highest Expected Low	5°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 Mount Vernon

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Mount Vernon.