When to plant in Calgary, AB

Planting dates worked out from Calgary's own frost records, not a generic zone chart.

Safe to plant out

Jun 10

1 year in 10 has a later frost

Average last frost

May 22

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Sep 17

1 year in 10 by Sep 6

Frost-free days

119

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Calgary Int'l A · 8.4 km away · station 1084 m, town 1048 m. How we match towns to stations

This season

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Planting dates for common crops

Crop	Start indoors	Plant out or sow	Harvest from
Tomato	Apr 15 – Apr 29	Jun 10 – Jun 24	Aug 4
Sweet pepper	Apr 1 – Apr 15	Jun 10 – Jun 24	Aug 9
Lettuce (leaf)	Mar 22 – Mar 29	Apr 26 – May 10	Jun 5
Peas	—	Apr 26 – May 24	Jun 20
Bush beans	—	Jun 3 – Jun 24	Jul 23
Carrot	—	May 7 – Jun 18	Jul 6
Beet	—	May 7 – Jun 18	Jun 26
Potato	—	May 7 – May 28	Jul 16
Kale	Mar 22 – Apr 5	May 3 – May 17	Jun 15
Broccoli	Mar 15 – Mar 29	Apr 26 – May 17	Jun 25
Cucumber	May 13 – May 20	Jun 10 – Jun 24	Jul 30
Summer squash and zucchini	May 13 – May 20	Jun 10 – Jun 24	Jul 25
Winter squash	May 13 – May 20	Jun 10 – Jun 24	Aug 29
Sweet corn	—	Jun 3 – Jun 24	Aug 2
Onion (from sets)	—	Apr 26 – May 17	Jul 25
Garlic	—	Sep 3 – Oct 1 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Apr 26 – May 24	Jun 3
Basil	Apr 29 – May 13	Jun 10 – Jun 24	Aug 6

Plan all 65 crops for Calgary

Calgary's weather over time

How the growing season has shifted here, year by year, from the station's own records.

Each year's last spring frostLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Last spring frost
1885	May 24
1886	May 20
1887	Jun 5
1888	Jun 5
1889	Jun 24
1890	May 31
1891	Jun 8
1892	Jun 24
1894	Jun 22
1895	Jun 8
1896	May 19
1897	Jun 3
1898	May 30
1899	May 20
1900	Jun 7
1901	Jun 8
1902	Jun 20
1903	May 25
1904	Jun 8
1905	Jun 27
1906	May 27
1907	May 25
1908	May 4
1909	May 19
1910	Jun 2
1911	May 28
1912	Jun 6
1913	May 20
1914	Jun 4
1915	May 21
1916	May 24
1917	Jun 4
1918	Jun 5
1919	Jun 1
1920	Jun 10
1921	May 30
1922	Jun 6
1923	May 29
1924	Jun 9
1925	May 25
1926	Jun 11
1927	May 26
1928	Jun 1
1929	May 15
1930	May 26
1931	May 26
1932	May 28
1933	May 17
1934	Jun 3
1935	May 28
1936	May 18
1937	May 30
1938	May 15
1939	Jun 6
1940	May 4
1941	May 26
1942	May 29
1943	Jul 11
1944	Jun 4
1945	May 27
1946	May 23
1947	May 29
1948	May 12
1949	May 23
1950	Jun 9
1951	Jun 26
1952	May 27
1953	May 17
1954	May 8
1955	May 22
1956	May 13
1957	May 22
1958	Jun 10
1959	May 30
1960	May 25
1961	May 17
1962	May 11
1963	May 19
1964	May 26
1965	Jun 7
1966	May 14
1967	Jun 10
1968	May 25
1969	Jun 13
1970	May 21
1971	May 15
1972	May 19
1973	May 12
1974	May 31
1975	May 24
1976	Jun 6
1977	May 18
1978	May 6
1979	Jun 16
1980	May 11
1981	May 12
1982	May 30
1983	May 14
1984	May 26
1985	May 6
1986	May 16
1987	May 20
1988	May 3
1989	May 29
1990	May 19
1991	May 6
1992	May 21
1994	Jun 16
1995	May 22
1996	May 16
1997	May 22
1998	May 6
1999	Jun 10
2000	Jun 12
2001	May 21
2002	May 24
2003	May 19
2004	May 24
2005	May 11
2006	May 11
2007	May 24
2008	May 10
2009	Jun 8
2010	May 23
2011	May 4
2012	May 19

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1885	54
1886	101
1887	64
1888	97
1889	42
1890	101
1891	94
1892	68
1894	82
1895	89
1896	112
1897	90
1898	97
1899	99
1900	79
1901	90
1902	69
1903	99
1904	73
1905	66
1906	105
1907	94
1908	127
1909	117
1910	82
1911	101
1912	84
1913	109
1914	108
1915	112
1916	112
1917	88
1918	49
1919	117
1920	79
1921	94
1922	91
1923	104
1924	102
1925	95
1926	88
1927	111
1928	87
1929	110
1930	110
1931	112
1932	97
1933	122
1934	101
1935	97
1936	114
1937	116
1938	144
1939	73
1940	154
1941	104
1942	89
1943	52
1944	106
1945	112
1946	84
1947	110
1948	115
1949	105
1950	70
1951	88
1952	103
1953	125
1954	134
1955	109
1956	111
1957	118
1958	84
1959	101
1960	118
1961	113
1962	114
1963	152
1964	102
1965	89
1966	133
1967	113
1968	116
1969	93
1970	110
1971	123
1972	104
1973	123
1974	101
1975	109
1976	118
1977	131
1978	135
1979	104
1980	105
1981	124
1982	105
1983	114
1984	95
1985	122
1986	112
1987	138
1988	137
1989	103
1990	130
1991	125
1992	93
1994	96
1995	118
1996	112
1997	119
1998	142
1999	84
2000	90
2001	123
2002	121
2003	119
2004	117
2005	132
2006	128
2007	119
2008	136
2009	114
2010	117
2011	147

Each year's average temperature, April to SeptemberLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1885	10.8 °C
1886	11.9 °C
1887	10.9 °C
1888	11.5 °C
1889	11.9 °C
1890	11.6 °C
1891	12.4 °C
1892	11.3 °C
1894	12.4 °C
1895	10.9 °C
1896	11.3 °C
1897	13.1 °C
1898	12.0 °C
1899	9.9 °C
1900	11.3 °C
1901	10.5 °C
1902	10.3 °C
1903	10.1 °C
1904	11.3 °C
1905	11.2 °C
1906	12.2 °C
1907	9.8 °C
1908	12.0 °C
1909	11.1 °C
1910	12.0 °C
1911	10.0 °C
1912	11.1 °C
1913	12.9 °C
1914	13.1 °C
1915	12.4 °C
1916	12.0 °C
1917	11.8 °C
1918	13.3 °C
1919	13.5 °C
1920	11.3 °C
1921	12.2 °C
1922	13.0 °C
1923	12.5 °C
1924	12.1 °C
1925	12.2 °C
1926	11.4 °C
1927	10.8 °C
1928	11.8 °C
1929	11.7 °C
1930	12.2 °C
1931	12.0 °C
1932	12.0 °C
1933	11.4 °C
1934	12.2 °C
1935	10.3 °C
1936	12.7 °C
1937	12.0 °C
1938	12.5 °C
1939	11.8 °C
1940	12.1 °C
1941	12.3 °C
1942	11.3 °C
1943	11.8 °C
1944	12.1 °C
1945	10.3 °C
1946	11.9 °C
1947	11.6 °C
1948	11.1 °C
1949	12.9 °C
1950	10.7 °C
1951	10.2 °C
1952	11.9 °C
1953	10.4 °C
1954	9.2 °C
1955	10.7 °C
1956	11.3 °C
1957	11.6 °C
1958	12.3 °C
1959	10.6 °C
1960	12.0 °C
1961	12.4 °C
1962	12.0 °C
1963	12.7 °C
1964	11.4 °C
1965	10.6 °C
1966	10.9 °C
1967	11.5 °C
1968	10.4 °C
1969	11.9 °C
1970	12.0 °C
1971	12.3 °C
1972	11.1 °C
1973	11.7 °C
1974	11.3 °C
1975	10.8 °C
1976	12.6 °C
1977	11.5 °C
1978	11.4 °C
1979	11.4 °C
1980	12.1 °C
1981	12.2 °C
1982	10.9 °C
1983	12.2 °C
1984	11.7 °C
1985	11.7 °C
1986	11.5 °C
1987	13.1 °C
1988	12.9 °C
1989	12.1 °C
1990	12.4 °C
1991	12.3 °C
1992	11.4 °C
1994	12.7 °C
1995	11.3 °C
1996	11.2 °C
1997	11.7 °C
1998	13.3 °C
1999	10.9 °C
2000	11.4 °C
2001	12.6 °C
2002	10.8 °C
2003	12.1 °C
2004	11.6 °C
2005	11.4 °C
2006	13.2 °C
2007	11.8 °C
2008	11.7 °C
2009	12.4 °C
2010	11.0 °C
2011	11.9 °C

What this means for you: Since 1885, Calgary's last spring frost has come about 1 day earlier per decade, on average. The frost-free season has grown by about 3 days per decade. Year-to-year swings are large, so keep using the safe date rather than the trend.

Source: daily records from Calgary Int'l A (NOAA GHCN-Daily, from Environment and Climate Change Canada). Years with too many missing days are left out.

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