Yes — Strong Match
kohlrabi is grown in zones 2-11, which covers every zone South Dakota contains (4a-5b). Whether the season is long enough is the question that remains.
Kohlrabi in South Dakota — the short answer
Kohlrabi in South Dakota: grown in zones 2–11, part sun.
- Plant zones
- 2-11
- Not verified
- South Dakota zones
- 4a-5b
- USDA PHZM 2023
- Frost window
- Apr 22 - Apr 29 – Oct 9 - Oct 15
- NOAA RCC ACIS 1991-2020, 28°F
- Shortest county season
- 145 days
- NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020, county 28°F killing freeze
- Days to maturity
- 55 days
- Growable Ground Plant Database
Plant data: Growable Ground Plant Database, compiled from FAO ECOCROP, USDA PLANTS and university Extension sources — per-field provenance varies and is published with the dataset.
Your yard isn't the whole zone.
South Dakota spans zones 4a-5b, but your yard sits in exactly one — and slope, tree cover, and cold-air pockets nudge it further. Enter your address and we'll score kohlrabi against your parcel's actual hardiness, soil, and sun.
We read public map data for this spot — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.
No card required · your parcel report in seconds — read in full free for your first 14 days
South Dakota is not one climate
South Dakota’s winter-low ladder runs across 66 counties, from zone 4 in Brown County to zone 5.5 in Custer County. That is 15°F between the two counties’ average coldest night — the difference between kohlrabi overwintering in the ground and coming under cover.
The middle half of 66 counties runs 4.5–5 zones, with a median of 4.5 zones — a 1.5-zone span end to end.
Measured across 66 South Dakota counties. USDA PHZM 2023, per county. Quartiles are order statistics — every figure shown is a value a real county recorded, not an interpolation. Your own site sits somewhere inside this range; a parcel report resolves where.
Where in South Dakota Fits Best
Even within South Dakota's zones 4a-5b, county microclimates differ enough to change what thrives. These counties carry the closest zone match for kohlrabi (USDA PHZM 2023):
Zone Comparison
Kohlrabi Needs
- USDA Zones: 2-11
- Sun: Part SunWe haven't confirmed this against a published source yet.
- Mature size: 1 ft tallWe haven't confirmed this against a published source yet.
- Picking window: ~14 days of harvestWe haven't confirmed this against a published source yet.
- Drought tolerance: LowWe haven't confirmed this against a published source yet.
South Dakota Has
- USDA Zones: 4a-5b
- Last Hard Freeze (28°F): Apr 22 - Apr 29
- First Hard Freeze (28°F): Oct 9 - Oct 15
- Annual Rainfall: 14-26 inches
- Common Soils: Prairie loam, Clay, Sandy loam
Plant Zone Range (zones 2-11)
Preferred Soil pH
We haven't confirmed this against a published source yet.
Plant data: Growable Ground Plant Database, compiled from FAO ECOCROP, USDA PLANTS, and university Extension sources — per-field provenance varies and is published with the dataset. State data: USDA ARS PHZM 2023, NOAA Climate Normals, NRCS SSURGO.
When to Plant Kohlrabi in South Dakota
The frost window
Across South Dakota, the last spring hard freeze (28°F) clears between Apr 22 and Apr 29, and the first fall hard freeze lands between Oct 9 and Oct 15 (NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). Counting from the latest last freeze to the earliest first freeze, that's a 163-day window you can count on — up to 176 days on a mild site in a kind year. That marks the hard freeze, not the last light frost, so tender transplants usually wait another 2-3 weeks.
When to start the seed
Those dates are when kohlrabi goes out, not when it starts. It is sown under cover about 4 weeks ahead, so counting back from South Dakota's late-side last freeze of Apr 29 is what fixes your sowing date — and a yard that clears frost earlier than the state's late date starts earlier still.
Winter standing
South Dakota runs as cold as USDA zone 4, and no sourced winter-hardiness floor is on record for kohlrabi, so this page does not state whether it overwinters here — and gives no fall establishment date on the strength of a guess. Whether kohlrabi is a permanent planting or a replant-every-spring crop for you turns on your own zone within South Dakota; check its hardiness range against that before treating it as long-lived ground.
Frost window: NOAA Climate Normals 1991-2020. Plant timing fields: Growable Ground Plant Database — frost-free days from FAO ECOCROP, days to harvest from university Extension production guides, and growing-degree-day and chill-hour minimums that are compilation estimates rather than published figures. Your site's own frost dates can run earlier or later than the state range — a parcel report pins them down.
Growing Season Fit
Kohlrabi is grown in zones 2–11, which covers every zone South Dakota contains (4a-5b). We have no sourced winter-survival figure for kohlrabi, so this page does not say whether it overwinters here. South Dakota's typical season runs ~168 frost-free days against the ~60 kohlrabi needs.
Growing degree days
Kohlrabi needs ~1100 GDD (base 50°F) to ripen. We haven't confirmed this against a published source yet. The state median runs ~2356 GDD (from PRISM 1991-2020 climate normals), so South Dakota's typical season clears that easily.
GDD and chill-hour figures are computed from PRISM 1991-2020 monthly climate normals; frost-free days from NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020. Each is the state median across its counties (P25/P75 span the within-state spread). Hardiness-zone range is USDA PHZM 2023.
Soil + Drainage Fit
Kohlrabi tolerates a wide pH range (pH 5.5-8.5) — 3 units, acid ground through alkaline — so soil acidity is rarely what limits it in South Dakota. A soil test is still worth having, but for what else it tells you about this site, not to clear this plant. It will grow across that whole span, but it does best between pH 6 and 7 — worth knowing before you decide whether a South Dakota soil test result is a problem or just a number. Drainage matters: this plant wants well (dry spells). If your South Dakota site is heavier clay or sits in a low spot, a raised bed lifts the roots above wet ground, or work in compost. pH range, preferred pH and drainage need: We haven't confirmed this against a published source yet.
Plant pH requirements: FAO ECOCROP and USDA PLANTS, with the remaining rows from other published sources or Growable Ground compilation. Drainage: FAO ECOCROP, with the remaining rows from other published sources or Growable Ground compilation. South Dakota soil profile from USDA NRCS SSURGO. Site-specific verification: a 30-minute soil test from your local Extension lab.
Before you plant kohlrabi for food
Anything you grow to eat takes up what is in the ground it grows in, so what is on record near you is worth knowing before kohlrabi goes in. What follows is South Dakota’s documented federal record at state scale — a screening signal, not a soil test, and not a statement about any one lot.
Safe to Grow Here?
What the federal record shows across South Dakota — and how to grow with it.
We checked the federal record across South Dakota — 4,290 documented sites across 7 of the 8 source types we track.
The most significant on record: 45 Superfund sites. Sites tracked in EPA's Superfund program — from assessment-stage CERCLIS entries to confirmed National Priorities List cleanup sites.
South Dakota carries one of the heavier federal records we track — and that's not a verdict on your yard. Proximity to a documented site is information, not a diagnosis: nothing here says any particular parcel is affected. It does earn one concrete step — before food beds go in the ground, a professional soil test tells you exactly what you're working with, and raised beds of imported, lab-tested soil grow well almost anywhere in the meantime.
Sources Checked
across South Dakota
Severity Distribution
across South Dakota
Highest-Severity Sites
A note from Gnorman
What an experienced grower watches for around here
In and around South Dakota, Brownfields runs higher than the national average — 419 sites across South Dakota. It's not cause for alarm — it's worth knowing, and there's a sensible way to grow around it.
Brownfields: Brownfield sites are former commercial or industrial properties that EPA’s Brownfields program (ACRES) has assessed or funded cleanup on.
Contact the EPA Brownfields program or the state cleanup agency for this site’s actual assessment/remediation status — ACRES itself does not publish one we can read per site.
Sources: EPA, USGS — 950K documented sites tracked nationwide across 8 federal source types.
What Else to Consider for Kohlrabi in South Dakota
The zone range tells you where kohlrabi is grown — but South Dakota growers also need to think about:
Extreme cold and short growing season
Low rainfall in western SD
Wind exposure on the open prairie
What to actually do about these — and the constraints that apply to every South Dakota grower, not just kohlrabi — is covered on the South Dakota growing guide.
Where in South Dakota Kohlrabi Is Zone-Hardy
Kohlrabi is rated for USDA zones 2–11. Every one of South Dakota’s 66 counties sits inside that band — from Brown County at zone 4a to Custer County at zone 5b — so winter cold is not what decides this plant anywhere in the state. What is left to vary is your own parcel: slope, shelter and cold-air drainage routinely move a site half a zone either way from the county figure.
Across those 66 counties South Dakota’s winter-low ladder runs from zone 4a in Brown County to zone 5b in Custer County — 1.5 USDA zones of spread, which is 15°F between the two counties’ average coldest night of the year. That is why a statewide hardiness answer is where you start and not where you finish.
The planting window moves with it. Lawrence County holds its last hard freeze (28°F) until about May 12, while Bon Homme County is clear by Apr 18 — 24 days apart. Set kohlrabi out on your county’s date, not the state’s.
County hardiness zones: USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map (PHZM) 2023, per county. County last-freeze dates: NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS (1991-2020), county 28°F killing freeze — earlier than the folk 32°F "last frost". Kohlrabi’s zone 2–11 band: Not verified. A parcel report resolves your address’s own zone and frost dates rather than its county’s.
Pollinator + Wildlife Value
Kohlrabi draws honeybees and native bees (moderate value). Planting it near vegetable beds can lift fruit set on neighboring crops. Outdoors, kohlrabi can only work that bloom inside South Dakota's frost window — roughly 168 days, opening after the last 28°F freeze (Apr 22 - Apr 29) and closing at the first (Oct 9 - Oct 15), per NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020. Pollinator value: We haven't confirmed this against a published source yet.
South Dakota Cooperative Extension
For South Dakota-specific cultivar recommendations, planting calendars, and pest pressure for kohlrabi, the canonical source is SDSU Extension. Their fact sheets carry the local trial data we can't generalize across 50 states.
Is Kohlrabi native to South Dakota?
No — the USDA PLANTS Database lists Kohlrabi as introduced rather than native in the Lower 48, so it is not part of South Dakota's native flora. It grows here as a garden plant; pairing it with a few South Dakota natives keeps local pollinators fed too.
Looking for plants that belong here? The South Dakota growing guide lists plants that USDA PLANTS records growing in South Dakota and that Kew and NatureServe Explorer both list in its native range, leaving out any that NatureServe flags as exotic there or that our audit holds.
State records: USDA PLANTS Database state-distribution data (presence, not state-level nativity), accessed 2026-10-19.
Common Questions About Growing Kohlrabi in South Dakota
When can I plant Kohlrabi in South Dakota?
South Dakota's last spring hard freeze (28°F) clears between Apr 22 and Apr 29, and the first fall hard freeze lands between Oct 9 and Oct 15 (NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). No sourced winter-hardiness floor is on record for Kohlrabi, so this page does not state whether it overwinters in South Dakota and publishes no fall establishment date for it — check its hardiness range against your own zone before treating it as a permanent planting.
What hardiness zone is Kohlrabi grown in across South Dakota?
South Dakota spans USDA hardiness zones 4a-5b (USDA ARS PHZM 2023). Kohlrabi carries a range of zones 2-11, so the overlap zones are where outdoor growing is most reliable.
How many frost-free days does a typical South Dakota site have?
A typical South Dakota site sees ~168 frost-free days per year (derived from NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). Kohlrabi needs 60+ frost-free days, so check whether your local microclimate runs above or below the state average before settling on a planting date.
Is Kohlrabi native to South Dakota?
No — the USDA PLANTS Database lists Kohlrabi as introduced rather than native in the Lower 48, so it is not part of South Dakota's native flora. It grows here as a garden plant; pairing it with a few South Dakota natives keeps local pollinators fed too.
How should I amend the soil for Kohlrabi in South Dakota?
Kohlrabi tolerates pH 5.5-8.5 and well (dry spells) drainage. We haven't confirmed this against a published source yet. That is a 3-unit span, acid ground through alkaline, so pH is rarely what limits this plant on a South Dakota site — amend for drainage and organic matter first.
Will Kohlrabi actually grow on my specific land in South Dakota?
State-level zone + climate data is a sketch. A Growable Ground parcel report scores kohlrabi against your address's mapped soil pH, drainage, sun, and frost-date data drawn from USDA SSURGO, NOAA, and PRISM — not state averages.
Check your specific parcel in South Dakota
State-level data is a sketch. Your Growable Ground report scores kohlrabi against your land's mapped soil, modelled sun, drainage, and frost data — not zone averages.
Three things about your lot that South Dakota kohlrabi averages can't show:
We read public map data around South Dakota — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.
25+ data sources read at your address, not the South Dakota kohlrabi average
Explore More
Growing guides for kohlrabi
Explore South Dakota county by county
South Dakota carries 66 counties with their own USDA zone — a sample of the growing pages for kohlrabi there:
Where else kohlrabi grows
Kohlrabi's zone band crosses state lines — these are the states closest to South Dakota in winter climate where it also has a page, plus the far ends of its range. Each one re-answers the question with that state's own record.
More to grow in South Dakota
South Dakota has a growing page for 753 plants — a rotating sample of the rest of the shelf.
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