Kale
Vegetables · Sow outdoors
Kale planting dates
At usual odds in 2026: spring Mar 23 – May 11; fall Sep 4 – Sep 18.
The guide's rule Spring: 5 weeks before last frost to 2 weeks after last frost. Fall: 6 to 8 weeks before first frost.
Frost odds · chance of a freezing night after your spring date
The 2026 season
Plant out / sow Frost risk
At all three odds
| Frost odds | Plant / sow |
|---|---|
| Bold (1 in 2) | spring: Mar 16 – May 4; fall: Sep 8 – Sep 22 |
| Usual (3 in 10) | spring: Mar 23 – May 11; fall: Sep 4 – Sep 18 |
| Careful (1 in 10) | spring: Mar 31 – May 19; fall: Aug 26 – Sep 9 |
- Days to first harvest
- 55-75 from seed
- How it goes in
- Sow outdoors
- Frost
- Frost-hardy Takes light frost.
- Soil to germinate
- 40-70°F
Plan it in your Garden Book
The book checks your date against the window and tells you when the first harvest could come.
Plus Free Garden Books hold 8 plantings a season; Seed Clock Plus holds 120: $1.95/month or $19.50/year. Free during preview What Plus adds
Source: Montana State University Extension, MontGuide MT199308AG, "Can I Grow That Here? Vegetable Seed and Transplant Schedules for Garden or Container" (reviewed August 2013), read with NOAA 1991-2020 freeze odds for Cleveland Hopkins. Wording ours; how we read the guide.