One of the first steps you take when you are determining your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The best time to plant kale in Hempstead should be figured out 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.

Kale do well in a little bit of cold which means that you can plant them a little bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant kale in Hempstead is January. However, you really should wait until February if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant kale and expect a good harvest is probably October. 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 little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Hempstead the average date of last frost happens on February 15. It might get as low as 20°F during the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Hempstead is just an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Hempstead you get a frost after February 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your kale if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Hempstead

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	20°F
Highest Expected Low	25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 25°F.

Plants to Grow in Hempstead

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