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 common way of estimating when it's possible to plant flowering kale is to consult the USDA zone info for West Salem.

Planting Calendar for Flowering Kale

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

Flowering Kale can survive in mild cold which tells us that you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant flowering kale in West Salem 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 flowering kale and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your flowering kale may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your flowering kale indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on May 15 in West Salem. You can expect an average low temperature of -25°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for West Salem and it is different every year. Half of the time in West Salem it frosts late in the year after May 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your flowering kale if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for West Salem

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 West Salem

You may be interested in your other planting guides for West Salem.