One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Altoona can be used to determine when it's a good idea to plant kale.

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 little 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 Altoona is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant kale and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your kale may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your kale indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is May 15 in Altoona. You can expect an average low temperature of -25°F in the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Altoona and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Altoona there is a last frost after May 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your kale if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Altoona

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-25°F
Highest Expected Low	-20°F

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

Plants to Grow in Altoona

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