Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Federal Way should be looked at to figure out when it's a good idea to plant chinese cabbage.

Planting Calendar for Chinese cabbage

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

You can plant chinese cabbage just a bit earlier in the year because they are moderately cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant chinese cabbage in Federal Way 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 chinese cabbage and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your chinese cabbage may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your chinese cabbage indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on March 15 in Federal Way. It might get as low as 15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Federal Way and it is different every year. Half of the time in Federal Way you get a frost after March 15 so always be ready to cover your chinese cabbage in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Federal Way

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Federal Way

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Federal Way.