When to plant in Fort Nelson, BC

Planting dates worked out from Fort Nelson'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 15

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Sep 14

1 year in 10 by Aug 30

Frost-free days

127

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Fort Nelson A · 6.9 km away · station 382 m, town 410 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 1 – Apr 15	May 27 – Jun 10	Jul 21
Sweet pepper	Mar 18 – Apr 1	May 27 – Jun 10	Jul 26
Lettuce (leaf)	Mar 23 – Mar 30	Apr 27 – May 11	Jun 6
Peas	—	Apr 27 – May 25	Jun 21
Bush beans	—	May 22 – Jun 12	Jul 11
Carrot	—	May 8 – Jun 19	Jul 7
Beet	—	May 8 – Jun 19	Jun 27
Potato	—	May 8 – May 29	Jul 17
Kale	Mar 23 – Apr 6	May 4 – May 18	Jun 16
Broccoli	Mar 16 – Mar 30	Apr 27 – May 18	Jun 26
Cucumber	Apr 29 – May 6	May 27 – Jun 10	Jul 16
Summer squash and zucchini	Apr 29 – May 6	May 27 – Jun 10	Jul 11
Winter squash	Apr 29 – May 6	May 27 – Jun 10	Aug 15
Sweet corn	—	May 22 – Jun 12	Jul 21
Onion (from sets)	—	Apr 27 – May 18	Jul 26
Garlic	—	Aug 30 – Sep 27 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Apr 27 – May 25	Jun 4
Basil	Apr 15 – Apr 29	May 27 – Jun 10	Jul 23

Plan all 65 crops for Fort Nelson

Fort Nelson'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
1938	May 28
1939	Jun 1
1940	May 14
1942	May 28
1943	Jun 5
1944	May 9
1945	May 24
1946	May 22
1947	May 31
1948	May 15
1949	May 25
1950	May 22
1951	Jun 27
1952	May 26
1953	May 5
1954	May 9
1955	May 23
1956	May 12
1957	Jun 10
1958	Jun 9
1959	Jun 18
1960	May 24
1961	May 14
1962	May 13
1963	May 29
1964	May 24
1965	May 20
1966	May 28
1967	May 17
1968	May 23
1969	May 26
1970	May 20
1971	May 18
1972	May 24
1973	May 21
1974	May 29
1975	May 26
1976	May 30
1977	May 26
1978	May 24
1979	May 29
1980	May 30
1981	May 10
1982	May 10
1983	May 23
1984	May 11
1985	May 23
1986	Jun 13
1987	May 20
1988	May 6
1989	May 27
1990	May 20
1991	May 6
1992	May 22
1993	Apr 28
1994	Apr 27
1995	May 25
1996	May 15
1997	May 22
1998	May 10
1999	May 18
2000	May 28
2001	May 12
2002	May 22
2003	May 18
2004	May 13
2005	May 6
2006	May 9
2007	May 23
2008	May 9
2009	May 21
2010	May 10
2011	Jun 4
2012	May 20

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1938	122
1939	64
1940	122
1942	96
1943	101
1944	117
1945	119
1946	106
1947	69
1948	101
1949	106
1950	83
1951	61
1952	94
1953	135
1954	128
1955	108
1956	113
1957	75
1958	90
1959	71
1960	115
1961	110
1962	111
1963	117
1964	103
1965	113
1966	74
1967	127
1968	113
1969	111
1970	111
1971	114
1972	103
1973	114
1974	100
1975	123
1976	104
1977	113
1978	116
1979	113
1980	86
1981	126
1982	107
1983	107
1984	114
1985	105
1986	71
1987	102
1988	126
1989	111
1990	128
1991	138
1992	90
1993	143
1994	135
1995	115
1996	116
1997	118
1998	128
1999	128
2000	93
2001	130
2002	105
2003	118
2004	104
2005	142
2006	127
2007	117
2008	137
2009	128
2010	128
2011	105

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1938	12.8 °C
1939	11.2 °C
1940	11.5 °C
1942	11.9 °C
1943	11.0 °C
1944	12.0 °C
1945	10.7 °C
1946	11.7 °C
1947	10.2 °C
1948	10.5 °C
1949	11.6 °C
1950	11.3 °C
1951	10.7 °C
1952	11.4 °C
1953	11.4 °C
1954	9.6 °C
1955	10.7 °C
1956	10.6 °C
1957	11.1 °C
1958	12.3 °C
1959	10.0 °C
1960	11.4 °C
1961	11.1 °C
1962	10.4 °C
1963	10.9 °C
1964	10.5 °C
1965	11.3 °C
1966	10.8 °C
1967	11.2 °C
1968	10.3 °C
1969	10.6 °C
1970	11.2 °C
1971	11.7 °C
1972	10.1 °C
1973	11.5 °C
1974	10.0 °C
1975	11.6 °C
1976	11.9 °C
1977	11.3 °C
1978	10.7 °C
1979	11.2 °C
1980	11.8 °C
1981	11.9 °C
1982	11.2 °C
1983	11.0 °C
1984	11.1 °C
1985	11.2 °C
1986	10.8 °C
1987	11.8 °C
1988	11.1 °C
1989	12.6 °C
1990	12.4 °C
1991	12.5 °C
1992	10.0 °C
1993	12.1 °C
1994	12.8 °C
1995	12.3 °C
1996	10.4 °C
1997	11.3 °C
1998	13.4 °C
1999	11.3 °C
2000	10.2 °C
2001	11.9 °C
2002	10.0 °C
2003	11.4 °C
2004	11.6 °C
2005	11.8 °C
2006	12.2 °C
2007	11.4 °C
2008	11.5 °C
2009	11.7 °C
2010	11.7 °C
2011	11.7 °C
2012	12.9 °C

What this means for you: Since 1938, Fort Nelson's last spring frost has come about 2 days earlier per decade, on average. The frost-free season has grown by about 4 days per decade. Year-to-year swings are large, so keep using the safe date rather than the trend.

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