One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Bristol you can figure out when it's a good idea to plant kale by checking out the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Kale

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

You can plant kale a bit earlier in the year because they do well in moderate cold.

The earliest that you can plant kale in Bristol 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your kale may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your kale indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Bristol the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as 0°F during the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Bristol and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Bristol you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so always be ready to cover your kale if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Bristol

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 Bristol

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