Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of making a decision about when it's the best time to plant napa cabbage is to look at the USDA zone info for Independence.

Planting Calendar for Napa cabbage

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

Since napa cabbage are very cold tolerant you can plant them a lot earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant napa cabbage in Independence 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. Any later than that and your napa cabbage may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your napa cabbage indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Independence. You should expect an average low temperature of 15°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Independence may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Independence you get a frost after March 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your napa cabbage if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Independence

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°F

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

Plants to Grow in Independence

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