One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out your gardening schedule is find your 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.

One way of getting a good idea when it's the best time to plant napa cabbage is to refer to the USDA zone info for Amherst.

Planting Calendar for Napa cabbage

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

You can plant napa cabbage much earlier in the year because they are very cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant napa cabbage in Amherst 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your napa cabbage may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your napa cabbage indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Amherst the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You should expect an average low temperature of -10°F in 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 Amherst and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Amherst you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so always be ready to protect your napa cabbage if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Amherst

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

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

Plants to Grow in Amherst

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