One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea 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 earliest that you can plant kale in Hopewell should be estimated by referring to 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.

Since kale are moderately cold tolerant you can plant them a little bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant kale in Hopewell 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

In Hopewell the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You can expect an average low temperature of 5°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Hopewell and it changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Hopewell you get a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your kale in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Hopewell

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	5°F
Highest Expected Low	10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 10°F.

Plants to Grow in Hopewell

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