One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the 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 common way of making a decision about when to plant red cabbage is to use the USDA zone info for Altoona.

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 are one of those plants that can tolerate quite a bit of cold weather which means that you can plant them a quite a bit earlier than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant red cabbage 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 red cabbage and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your red cabbage may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your red cabbage indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Altoona and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Altoona you get a frost after May 15 be ready to protect your red cabbage in the event of a surprise 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.