The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of making a decision about when to plant kale is to refer to the USDA zone info for Culpeper.

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 are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant kale in Culpeper 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. If you wait any later than that and 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

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Culpeper. You should expect an average low temperature of 0°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Culpeper is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Culpeper you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your kale in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Culpeper

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 Culpeper

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