Best time to plant kale in Melbourne
Brassica oleracea (acephala)
Also called leaf cabbage
Sow kale in Melbourne in Jan to Apr.
Also called leaf cabbage, kale is a group of Brassica oleracea cultivars grown mostly for eating the leaves, with some used as ornamentals. Those leaves may be flat, curly or bumpy, in shades from green to purple. Unlike headed cabbage, the centre stays open rather than forming a head.
When to sow in Melbourne
Melbourne, VIC is in the cool zone. Its months for kale apply here without a frost adjustment.
Broadly matches local guides, with some differences.
Your local conditions can shift any months shown here, so treat them as a guide.
Frost in Melbourne
Frost usually arrives in Melbourne around mid June and finishes by late August. In about 1 year in 10 it comes as early as late May or as late as late September, so frost-tender crops are planned around those dates.
From the average of its 2 Bureau of Meteorology stations, 1991 to 2020, counting a night at 2°C or lower as a frost. Frost hollows and hillsides can shift these dates by weeks, so ask the growers at your garden too.
On a shared plot: suits a plot
Finishes in a season and stays within its space, so it suits most plots.
Growing details
- How to start
- Raise seedlings, then transplant
- Sowing depth
- 12mm
- Plant spacing
- 75cm
- Row spacing
- 45cm
- Height
- 75cm
- Germination
- About 10 days
- Time to harvest
- 60 days from sowing
- Frost
- Hardy, takes a light frost
- Sun
- Full sun
- Life cycle
- biennial, usually grown as an annual
These are typical figures, and varieties differ. Your seed packet takes priority.