Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out 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.

In Portage you can determine when it's possible to plant chinese cabbage by checking out the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Chinese cabbage

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

Chinese cabbage are moderately cold tolerant which tells us that you can get them planted earlier than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant chinese cabbage in Portage 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your chinese cabbage may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your chinese cabbage indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Portage the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as -20°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Portage may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Portage there is a last frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your chinese cabbage in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Portage

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-20°F
Highest Expected Low	-15°F

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

Plants to Grow in Portage

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