One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate 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.

One way of estimating when it's a good idea to plant napa cabbage is to use the USDA zone info for Darby.

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 quite a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant napa cabbage in Darby 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 really do well. Starting your napa cabbage indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Darby the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 0°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Darby is an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Darby last frost occurs after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your napa cabbage if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Darby

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 Darby

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