When to Plant Kale in Chillicothe, OH

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Chillicothe can be reviewed to determine when it's possible to 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 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 other frost tender plants.

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 Chillicothe 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 grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your kale indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Chillicothe. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -10°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Chillicothe is not always accurate the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Chillicothe you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your kale if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Chillicothe

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 Chillicothe

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