When to plant in Kitimat, BC

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

Safe to plant out

May 19

1 year in 10 has a later frost

Average last frost

Apr 30

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Oct 21

1 year in 10 by Oct 9

Frost-free days

176

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Kitimat 2 · 5.8 km away · station 17 m, town 22 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 26 – Apr 9	May 21 – Jun 4	Jul 15
Sweet pepper	Mar 12 – Mar 26	May 21 – Jun 4	Jul 20
Lettuce (leaf)	Mar 3 – Mar 10	Apr 7 – Apr 21	May 17
Peas	—	Apr 7 – May 5	Jun 1
Bush beans	—	May 14 – Jun 4	Jul 3
Carrot	—	Apr 23 – Jun 4	Jun 22
Beet	—	Apr 23 – Jun 4	Jun 12
Potato	—	Apr 23 – May 14	Jul 2
Kale	Mar 3 – Mar 17	Apr 14 – Apr 28	May 27
Broccoli	Feb 24 – Mar 10	Apr 7 – Apr 28	Jun 6
Cucumber	Apr 23 – Apr 30	May 21 – Jun 4	Jul 10
Summer squash and zucchini	Apr 23 – Apr 30	May 21 – Jun 4	Jul 5
Winter squash	Apr 23 – Apr 30	May 21 – Jun 4	Aug 9
Sweet corn	—	May 14 – Jun 4	Jul 13
Onion (from sets)	—	Apr 7 – Apr 28	Jul 6
Garlic	—	Sep 20 – Oct 18 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Apr 7 – May 5	May 15
Basil	Apr 9 – Apr 23	May 21 – Jun 4	Jul 17

Plan all 65 crops for Kitimat

Kitimat'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
1966	May 22
1967	Apr 23
1968	Apr 30
1969	Apr 21
1970	Apr 27
1971	May 15
1972	May 14
1973	Apr 7
1974	May 10
1975	Apr 29
1977	Apr 15
1978	Apr 11
1979	Apr 16
1980	Apr 2
1981	Apr 13
1982	Apr 26
1983	Apr 11
1984	Apr 6
1985	May 6
1986	Apr 30
1987	Apr 18
1988	Apr 22
1989	Apr 18
1990	Apr 7
1992	Apr 12
1993	Apr 12
1994	Apr 16
1995	May 8
1996	May 11
1997	Apr 19
1998	May 17
1999	May 10
2000	Apr 17
2001	May 19
2002	May 7
2003	May 6
2004	Apr 10
2005	Apr 2
2006	May 12
2007	Apr 13
2008	Apr 30
2009	Apr 26
2010	May 3
2011	Apr 24
2012	Apr 24
2013	May 27
2018	May 29

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1966	143
1967	193
1968	197
1969	186
1970	191
1971	164
1972	148
1973	181
1974	185
1975	182
1977	181
1978	199
1979	201
1980	234
1981	203
1982	175
1983	186
1984	197
1985	154
1986	190
1987	186
1988	187
1989	180
1990	209
1992	183
1993	222
1994	177
1995	173
1996	141
1997	172
1998	159
1999	171
2000	205
2002	156
2003	176
2004	193
2005	193
2006	148
2007	204
2008	162
2010	177
2012	180
2013	145

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1966	11.7 °C
1967	13.2 °C
1968	12.3 °C
1969	12.8 °C
1970	11.5 °C
1971	12.7 °C
1972	11.5 °C
1973	11.8 °C
1974	12.3 °C
1975	12.2 °C
1977	13.5 °C
1978	13.6 °C
1979	13.4 °C
1981	13.6 °C
1982	13.3 °C
1983	13.4 °C
1984	12.1 °C
1985	12.9 °C
1986	13.1 °C
1987	13.4 °C
1988	12.4 °C
1989	14.3 °C
1990	14.8 °C
1992	14.0 °C
1993	15.0 °C
1994	14.2 °C
1995	14.2 °C
1996	12.2 °C
1997	13.9 °C
1999	12.0 °C
2000	12.6 °C
2001	11.6 °C
2002	12.7 °C
2003	13.3 °C
2004	15.0 °C
2005	14.6 °C
2006	13.9 °C
2007	12.2 °C
2008	11.9 °C
2010	14.0 °C
2011	12.3 °C
2012	12.6 °C
2013	14.7 °C
2018	14.1 °C

What this means for you: Since 1966, Kitimat's last spring frost has come about 2 days later per decade, on average. The frost-free season has shrunk 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 Kitimat 2 (NOAA GHCN-Daily, from Environment and Climate Change Canada). Years with too many missing days are left out.

Nearby towns

Terrace Smithers Telkwa