When to plant in Calmar, AB

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

Safe to plant out

May 25

1 year in 10 has a later frost

Average last frost

May 20

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Sep 15

1 year in 10 by Sep 9

Frost-free days

116

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Calmar · 3.9 km away · station 720 m, town 725 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	Mar 30 – Apr 13	May 25 – Jun 8	Jul 19
Sweet pepper	Mar 16 – Mar 30	May 25 – Jun 8	Jul 24
Lettuce (leaf)	Mar 18 – Mar 25	Apr 22 – May 6	Jun 1
Peas	—	Apr 21 – May 19	Jun 15
Bush beans	—	May 19 – Jun 9	Jul 8
Carrot	—	May 1 – Jun 12	Jun 30
Beet	—	May 1 – Jun 12	Jun 20
Potato	—	May 1 – May 22	Jul 10
Kale	Mar 17 – Mar 31	Apr 28 – May 12	Jun 10
Broccoli	Mar 11 – Mar 25	Apr 22 – May 13	Jun 21
Cucumber	Apr 27 – May 4	May 25 – Jun 8	Jul 14
Summer squash and zucchini	Apr 27 – May 4	May 25 – Jun 8	Jul 9
Winter squash	Apr 27 – May 4	May 25 – Jun 8	Aug 13
Sweet corn	—	May 19 – Jun 9	Jul 18
Onion (from sets)	—	Apr 22 – May 13	Jul 21
Garlic	—	Sep 1 – Sep 29 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Apr 21 – May 19	May 29
Basil	Apr 13 – Apr 27	May 25 – Jun 8	Jul 21

Plan all 65 crops for Calmar

Calmar'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
1916	Jun 25
1917	Jun 13
1918	Jun 5
1919	Jul 1
1920	Jun 13
1921	Jun 2
1922	Jun 9
1923	May 29
1924	Jun 24
1925	Jun 6
1926	Jun 13
1927	May 22
1928	Jun 1
1929	Jun 24
1930	Jun 3
1931	Jun 4
1932	Jun 17
1933	Jun 11
1934	Jun 24
1935	Jun 1
1936	Jun 7
1937	Jun 10
1938	Jun 7
1939	Jun 18
1940	May 28
1941	Jun 4
1942	May 29
1943	Jun 12
1944	May 12
1945	May 27
1946	Jun 27
1947	May 29
1948	May 12
1949	Jul 3
1950	Jun 10
1951	Jun 7
1952	May 8
1953	May 26
1954	May 30
1955	May 21
1956	May 30
1957	May 22
1958	Jun 11
1959	May 30
1960	May 23
1961	May 17
1962	May 21
1963	May 21
1964	May 16
1965	May 21
1966	Jun 6
1967	May 19
1968	Jun 15
1969	Jun 13
1970	May 18
1971	May 18
1972	May 19
1973	May 12
1974	May 30
1975	May 21
1976	Jun 3
1977	May 19
1978	May 8
1979	May 31
1980	May 31
1981	May 11
1982	May 29
1983	May 17
1984	May 24
1985	Jun 3
1986	May 16
1987	May 21
1988	May 4
1989	May 29
1990	May 14
1991	May 24
1992	May 24
1993	May 15
1994	May 21
1995	May 26
1996	May 23
1997	May 22
1998	May 12
1999	May 20
2000	Jun 1
2001	May 21
2002	May 25
2003	May 20
2004	May 15
2005	May 8
2006	May 10
2007	May 25

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1916	45
1918	48
1919	62
1920	58
1921	77
1922	84
1923	97
1924	67
1925	78
1926	86
1927	115
1928	79
1929	70
1930	88
1931	96
1932	74
1933	74
1934	60
1935	75
1936	38
1937	96
1938	76
1939	61
1940	113
1941	95
1942	95
1943	81
1944	137
1945	96
1946	61
1947	98
1948	132
1949	63
1950	67
1951	95
1952	147
1953	117
1954	109
1955	110
1956	94
1957	117
1958	83
1959	99
1960	115
1961	115
1962	104
1963	138
1964	112
1965	107
1966	115
1967	126
1968	94
1969	92
1970	114
1971	121
1972	107
1973	98
1974	93
1975	112
1976	121
1977	114
1979	129
1980	109
1981	136
1982	106
1983	111
1984	97
1985	93
1986	112
1987	126
1988	129
1989	103
1990	135
1991	107
1992	88
1993	120
1994	113
1995	114
1996	119
1997	114
1998	126
1999	115
2000	110
2001	130
2002	120
2003	118
2004	116
2005	135
2006	130
2007	106

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1916	10.4 °C
1918	10.7 °C
1919	11.3 °C
1920	9.3 °C
1921	10.5 °C
1922	11.1 °C
1923	11.2 °C
1924	10.6 °C
1925	11.4 °C
1926	10.5 °C
1927	10.3 °C
1928	11.1 °C
1929	10.6 °C
1930	11.5 °C
1931	11.3 °C
1932	12.2 °C
1933	10.8 °C
1934	11.2 °C
1935	10.0 °C
1936	11.6 °C
1937	11.8 °C
1938	12.3 °C
1939	11.9 °C
1940	11.8 °C
1941	12.5 °C
1942	11.3 °C
1943	11.3 °C
1944	12.3 °C
1945	10.4 °C
1946	11.5 °C
1947	11.3 °C
1948	10.8 °C
1949	12.7 °C
1950	11.3 °C
1951	10.5 °C
1952	12.4 °C
1953	10.9 °C
1954	9.3 °C
1955	11.1 °C
1956	11.5 °C
1957	11.9 °C
1958	12.5 °C
1959	10.9 °C
1960	11.8 °C
1961	12.7 °C
1962	11.5 °C
1964	11.6 °C
1965	10.9 °C
1966	11.4 °C
1967	11.8 °C
1968	11.2 °C
1969	12.2 °C
1970	12.3 °C
1971	12.2 °C
1972	11.3 °C
1973	11.9 °C
1974	10.9 °C
1975	10.9 °C
1976	12.8 °C
1977	12.4 °C
1979	11.8 °C
1980	12.5 °C
1981	12.9 °C
1982	11.0 °C
1983	12.2 °C
1984	11.8 °C
1985	11.7 °C
1986	11.8 °C
1987	13.1 °C
1988	13.0 °C
1989	12.4 °C
1990	12.5 °C
1991	12.6 °C
1992	11.1 °C
1993	11.6 °C
1994	12.8 °C
1995	11.6 °C
1996	11.0 °C
1997	11.7 °C
1998	14.3 °C
1999	11.4 °C
2000	11.8 °C
2001	12.9 °C
2002	11.4 °C
2003	12.6 °C
2004	12.0 °C
2005	11.9 °C
2006	13.6 °C
2007	11.8 °C

What this means for you: Since 1916, Calmar's last spring frost has come about 3 days earlier per decade, on average. The frost-free season has grown by about 6 days per decade. Year-to-year swings are large, so keep using the safe date rather than the trend.

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

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