One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of determining when it's possible to plant red cabbage is to look at the USDA zone info for Federal Way.

Planting Calendar for Red cabbage

Frost tolerance for red cabbage:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Red cabbage do ok in cold weather which tells us that you can plant them earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant red 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 red cabbage and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your red cabbage may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your red cabbage indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Federal Way the average date of last frost happens on March 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 15°F.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Federal Way is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Federal Way there is a last frost after March 15 be ready to protect your red cabbage if you have one of those late frosts.

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.