When to Plant Cabbage in Watertown, SD

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

It's possible to determine when it's a good idea to plant cabbage by using the USDA zone info for Watertown.


Planting Calendar for Cabbage

Frost tolerance for cabbage: Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant: Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Cabbage tend to make it in some cold which means that you can plant them a little earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant cabbage
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant cabbage
Probably not a good time to plant cabbage

The earliest that you can plant cabbage in Watertown is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant cabbage and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your cabbage may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your cabbage indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Watertown the average date of last frost happens on May 15. You can expect an average low temperature of -30°F in the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Watertown and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Watertown it frosts late in the year after May 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your cabbage if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Watertown

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)September 15
Lowest Expected Low-30°F
Highest Expected Low-25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -30°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -25°F.

Plants to Grow in Watertown

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