When to plant kale in Edinburgh

Where are you growing?

Comfortable

Comfortable in greenhouse

Not realistic in a cold frame

Kale in Edinburgh is a good fit outdoors. The suitable growing window of 256 days covers the 50–70 days this plant usually needs.

When to plantMarch 14 – May 8

Harvest: May 3 – July 17
Season vs crop: 256 grow days vs 50–70 needed
Typical frost (last spring – first fall): March 20 – November 28

Kale in Edinburgh is a good fit outdoors. The suitable growing window of 256 days covers the 50–70 days this plant usually needs.

Planting conditions

Direct sow
Harvest

Local activity windows for this place and growing method. Blue fill is usually too cold for this plant. Dashed lines are typical last and first frost.

Suitable growing days in a row256

Days to harvest50–70 days from seed

Mar 14 – May 8

Direct sow

May 3 – Jul 17

Harvest

Activity	Window	Notes
Direct sow	Mar 14 – May 8	Plant outdoors in this window.
Harvest	May 3 – Jul 17	Expected harvest from typical days to harvest.

Blue fill is usually too cold for this plant. Dashed lines are typical last and first frost. Adjust a week or two for your conditions.

Planting and growing across the year

Planting is the sow / plant-out window. Growing is daytime air versus this plant’s ideal (15 – 27 °C) and tolerable (4 – 30 °C) ranges.

Planting uses sow / plant-out rules (frost, soil germination, night, and last-sow): green when plantable, blue diagonal when nights or soil are too cold, amber cross-hatch when too hot, faint for other calendar limits. Growing shows daytime air against this plant’s ideal and tolerable ranges across the year.

Key dates

Typical last spring frostMarch 20

Safer last spring frostMarch 20

Typical first fall frostNovember 28

Safer first fall frostNovember 28

Frost-free days252

Outdoor sow dateMarch 14

Direct sow windowMarch 14 – May 8

Suitable growing windowMarch 14 – November 24 (256 days)

Expected harvestMay 3 – July 17

How these dates are judged

Ideal conditions: Daytime air from 15 – 27 °C.
Suitable conditions: Daytime air from 4 – 30 °C.
Last frost and first frost: Typical spring and fall frost dates for Edinburgh, shown in the key dates.
Days to harvest: 50–70 days from seed, from typical days to harvest.
Sowing window: Dated sow and harvest bars use frost dates, soil minima, night limits, and last-sow count-back from typical crop timing. The year strip and weekly chart use the same window: air ratings only colour weeks inside it.

Growing window for Kale: Mar 14 – Nov 24 (256 days)

Planting window for Kale: Mar 14 – May 8 (56 days)

Usually too cold: Jan 1 – Feb 15; Nov 23 – Dec 13; Dec 21 – Dec 31

Outdoors: weekly temperatures and windows

Temperatures across the year for Edinburgh. Shaded bands are this plant’s ideal and tolerable daytime air ranges. Growing is daytime air suitability; Planting is sow / plant-out conditions (same colour language). Window brackets mark each stretch.

Ideal range
Tolerable range
Possible min to max
Average min to max
Suitable
Tolerable
Too cold
Too hot

Selected week · tap a week or use the arrows

Week 11 · Mar 9 – Mar 15

Average 3 to 8 °C · Possible −4 to 13 °C

Growing: too cold

Planting: too cold

A week is in range when its average low and high sit inside the tolerance band 4 to 30 °C; it is suitable when that average range also overlaps the ideal 15 to 27 °C band and possible readings stay within 4 °C to 30 °C. Crossing a possible limit, or missing the ideal band, makes it tolerable; a possible low below 4 °C makes it tolerable. When a sowing window is calculated, weeks outside that window are uncoloured even if air is in range.

Based on average frost dates.

Show all 53 weeks

Cover method weekly charts

Outdoor weekly chart is above. Open a cover chart only if you grow under fleece, a cold frame, or an unheated greenhouse.

Other plants for Edinburgh

Calculated by Plan & Plant · Method · Data 2019–2026

Frost and suitability dates are typical figures from climate statistics. Microclimates vary; they are not a guarantee.

How we calculated this

Data: ERA5-Land via Open-Meteo, cell 55.90, -3.10, years 2019–2026 (not a 30-year climate normal yet).
Typical and safer dates: Typical last frost is the date after which half of winters in this sample had no more frost; safer is later in the sample so fewer winters still frosted.
Crop rule: Local windows for Kale from frost dates, temperature ratings, and crop timing rules.
Confidence: Provisional — short or thin sample for this place.
Full methodology (algorithm 2026-10-season-6).

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