When to plant in Fernie, BC

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

Safe to plant out

Jun 22

1 year in 10 has a later frost

Average last frost

Jun 3

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Sep 12

1 year in 10 by Aug 31

Frost-free days

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Fernie · 1.3 km away · station 1001 m, town 996 m. How we match towns to stations

This season

Plan your garden.

Build my Fernie plan

Planting dates for common crops

Crop	Start indoors	Plant out or sow	Harvest from
Tomato	Apr 27 – May 11	Jun 22 – Jul 6	Aug 16
Sweet pepper	Apr 13 – Apr 27	Jun 22 – Jul 6	Aug 21
Lettuce (leaf)	Apr 1 – Apr 8	May 6 – May 20	Jun 15
Peas	—	Apr 22 – May 20	Jun 16
Bush beans	—	Jun 15 – Jul 6	Aug 4
Carrot	—	May 13 – Jun 24	Jul 12
Beet	—	May 6 – Jun 17	Jun 25
Potato	—	May 13 – Jun 3	Jul 22
Kale	Mar 25 – Apr 8	May 6 – May 20	Jun 18
Broccoli	Mar 25 – Apr 8	May 6 – May 27	Jul 5
Cucumber	May 25 – Jun 1	Jun 22 – Jul 6	Aug 11
Summer squash and zucchini	May 25 – Jun 1	Jun 22 – Jul 6	Aug 6
Winter squash Season likely too short	May 25 – Jun 1	Jun 22 – Jul 6	Sep 10
Sweet corn	—	Jun 15 – Jul 6	Aug 14
Onion (from sets)	—	May 6 – May 27	Aug 4
Garlic	—	Aug 29 – Sep 26 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Apr 22 – May 20	May 30
Basil	May 11 – May 25	Jun 22 – Jul 6	Aug 18

Plan all 65 crops for Fernie

Fernie'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
1914	May 7
1915	May 30
1916	Jun 12
1917	Jun 12
1918	Jul 4
1919	Jun 12
1920	Jun 26
1921	May 29
1922	May 23
1923	May 29
1924	May 30
1925	May 26
1926	Jun 10
1927	Jun 1
1928	May 14
1929	Jun 23
1930	May 26
1931	May 22
1932	May 26
1933	May 28
1934	Jun 4
1935	Jun 6
1936	May 18
1937	May 31
1938	May 20
1939	Jun 2
1940	May 27
1941	May 10
1942	May 19
1943	Jul 12
1944	May 4
1945	Jun 15
1946	May 21
1947	Jun 21
1948	May 5
1949	Jun 18
1950	Jun 3
1951	Jun 25
1952	Jun 14
1953	May 23
1954	May 22
1963	May 20
1964	May 26
1965	Jun 7
1966	May 18
1967	May 26
1968	May 16
1969	Jun 13
1970	May 18
1971	Jun 17
1972	May 24
1973	Jun 11
1974	Jun 1
1975	Jun 10
1976	Jun 5
1977	Jun 3
1978	Jun 20
1979	Jul 3
1980	Jun 7
1981	May 13
1982	May 31
1983	Jun 12
1984	May 28
1985	Jun 10
1986	May 23
1987	Jul 11
1988	May 24
1989	May 30
1990	Jun 6
1991	Jun 4
1992	Jun 3
1993	May 3
1994	May 31
1995	Jun 9
1996	Jun 20
1997	May 24
1998	May 16
1999	Jun 8
2000	May 29
2001	Jun 3
2003	Jun 4
2004	Jun 16
2005	May 26
2006	May 14
2008	Jun 30
2009	Jul 1
2010	May 30
2019	May 26

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1914	144
1915	103
1916	52
1917	108
1918	54
1920	72
1921	95
1922	124
1923	99
1924	91
1925	116
1926	86
1927	99
1928	105
1929	62
1930	97
1931	116
1932	98
1933	101
1934	107
1935	103
1936	113
1937	89
1938	139
1939	96
1940	130
1941	120
1942	121
1943	52
1944	136
1945	33
1946	120
1947	76
1948	122
1949	56
1950	99
1951	69
1952	91
1963	121
1964	107
1965	90
1966	134
1967	109
1968	138
1969	64
1970	114
1971	88
1972	99
1973	67
1974	92
1975	92
1976	94
1977	87
1978	88
1979	82
1980	79
1981	134
1982	102
1983	85
1984	108
1985	105
1986	105
1989	101
1990	103
1991	90
1992	86
1993	132
1994	96
1995	101
1996	73
1997	137
1998	140
1999	84
2000	90
2003	104
2005	102
2006	109
2008	69
2009	81

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1914	11.9 °C
1915	12.2 °C
1916	10.8 °C
1917	11.2 °C
1918	11.9 °C
1919	12.2 °C
1920	11.2 °C
1921	11.5 °C
1922	11.8 °C
1923	11.8 °C
1924	11.9 °C
1925	12.6 °C
1926	11.5 °C
1927	11.1 °C
1928	11.7 °C
1929	11.2 °C
1930	12.6 °C
1931	12.3 °C
1932	12.1 °C
1933	11.4 °C
1934	12.8 °C
1935	10.9 °C
1936	13.1 °C
1937	11.9 °C
1938	12.7 °C
1939	12.4 °C
1940	13.2 °C
1941	12.5 °C
1942	11.6 °C
1943	11.2 °C
1944	12.1 °C
1945	11.3 °C
1946	11.8 °C
1947	11.8 °C
1948	11.4 °C
1949	11.9 °C
1950	10.9 °C
1951	10.8 °C
1963	12.7 °C
1964	10.9 °C
1965	11.5 °C
1966	12.3 °C
1967	13.0 °C
1968	11.2 °C
1969	12.6 °C
1970	11.9 °C
1971	11.5 °C
1972	10.8 °C
1973	11.8 °C
1974	11.3 °C
1975	11.2 °C
1976	11.8 °C
1977	11.8 °C
1978	11.2 °C
1979	12.4 °C
1980	11.4 °C
1981	11.6 °C
1982	10.6 °C
1983	10.2 °C
1984	11.5 °C
1985	12.3 °C
1987	13.1 °C
1989	12.0 °C
1990	12.5 °C
1991	12.1 °C
1992	12.6 °C
1993	11.8 °C
1994	13.2 °C
1995	11.7 °C
1996	11.8 °C
1997	12.0 °C
1998	14.1 °C
1999	11.2 °C
2000	11.7 °C
2003	13.6 °C
2005	12.4 °C
2006	13.5 °C
2007	13.4 °C
2008	11.4 °C
2009	12.7 °C
2014	12.6 °C
2019	13.0 °C

What this means for you: Since 1914, Fernie's last spring frost has stayed at about the same time of year. Year-to-year swings are large, so keep using the safe date rather than the trend.

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

Nearby towns

Sparwood Coleman, AB Blairmore, AB Cranbrook Elkford Kimberley