One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Watertown you can estimate when it's the best time to plant kale by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Kale

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

Kale are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather which means that you can plant them a little bit earlier than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant kale in Watertown 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 kale and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your kale may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your kale indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Watertown. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -20°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Watertown is not always accurate the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Watertown you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your kale in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Watertown

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 Watertown

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