When to plant in Telkwa, BC

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

Safe to plant out

Jun 11

1 year in 10 has a later frost

Average last frost

May 27

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Sep 16

1 year in 10 by Sep 5

Frost-free days

112

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Smithers A · 16.5 km away · station 522 m, town 502 m. How we match towns to stations

This season

Plan your garden.

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Planting dates for common crops

Crop	Start indoors	Plant out or sow	Harvest from
Tomato	Apr 16 – Apr 30	Jun 11 – Jun 25	Aug 5
Sweet pepper	Apr 2 – Apr 16	Jun 11 – Jun 25	Aug 10
Lettuce (leaf)	Mar 25 – Apr 1	Apr 29 – May 13	Jun 8
Peas	—	Apr 22 – May 20	Jun 16
Bush beans	—	Jun 4 – Jun 25	Jul 24
Carrot	—	May 6 – Jun 17	Jul 5
Beet	—	May 5 – Jun 16	Jun 24
Potato	—	May 6 – May 27	Jul 15
Kale	Mar 18 – Apr 1	Apr 29 – May 13	Jun 11
Broccoli	Mar 18 – Apr 1	Apr 29 – May 20	Jun 28
Cucumber	May 14 – May 21	Jun 11 – Jun 25	Jul 31
Summer squash and zucchini	May 14 – May 21	Jun 11 – Jun 25	Jul 26
Winter squash	May 14 – May 21	Jun 11 – Jun 25	Aug 30
Sweet corn	—	Jun 4 – Jun 25	Aug 3
Onion (from sets)	—	Apr 29 – May 20	Jul 28
Garlic	—	Sep 2 – Sep 30 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Apr 22 – May 20	May 30
Basil	Apr 30 – May 14	Jun 11 – Jun 25	Aug 7

Plan all 65 crops for Telkwa

Telkwa'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
1943	May 29
1944	May 21
1945	Jun 12
1946	Jul 8
1947	Jul 2
1948	Jun 9
1949	Jun 16
1950	Jun 1
1951	Jun 19
1952	Jul 6
1953	Jun 1
1954	Jun 19
1955	Jun 19
1956	Jun 10
1957	May 12
1958	May 17
1959	May 27
1960	Jun 12
1961	May 28
1962	Jul 1
1963	Jun 7
1964	May 24
1965	Jun 28
1966	Jun 22
1967	May 22
1968	Jun 5
1969	May 18
1970	Jul 10
1971	May 25
1972	May 24
1973	Jun 11
1974	Jun 25
1975	May 25
1976	May 31
1977	May 28
1978	May 30
1979	May 21
1980	May 24
1981	Jun 7
1982	May 21
1983	May 10
1984	May 26
1985	Jun 16
1986	May 23
1987	Jun 14
1988	Jun 20
1989	May 23
1990	May 24
1991	Jun 2
1992	Jun 3
1994	May 30
1995	Jun 3
1996	Jul 2
1997	May 23
1998	May 10
1999	Jun 6
2000	Jul 1
2001	May 23
2002	May 18
2003	May 26
2004	Jun 3
2005	May 17
2006	May 15
2007	May 20
2008	Jun 19
2009	May 30
2010	Jun 4
2011	May 13
2012	Jun 4
2013	May 1
2014	May 5
2015	May 6
2016	May 21
2017	Jun 4
2018	May 31

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1943	100
1944	119
1946	13
1947	32
1948	77
1949	62
1950	98
1951	70
1952	59
1953	92
1954	89
1955	63
1956	84
1957	105
1958	127
1959	74
1960	81
1961	101
1962	62
1963	103
1964	106
1965	66
1966	76
1967	125
1968	97
1969	95
1970	59
1971	106
1972	108
1973	40
1974	95
1975	105
1976	98
1977	101
1978	110
1980	105
1981	97
1982	130
1983	121
1984	98
1985	82
1986	110
1987	90
1988	79
1989	142
1990	125
1991	97
1992	80
1994	120
1995	107
1996	63
1997	117
1998	116
1999	111
2000	75
2001	106
2002	110
2003	119
2004	108
2005	121
2006	138
2007	130
2008	86
2009	119
2010	103
2011	135
2012	102
2013	147
2014	127
2015	121
2016	113
2017	100

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1943	10.7 °C
1944	11.4 °C
1945	10.6 °C
1946	10.2 °C
1947	10.3 °C
1948	10.6 °C
1949	10.6 °C
1950	10.8 °C
1951	11.3 °C
1952	10.8 °C
1953	10.7 °C
1954	9.8 °C
1955	9.5 °C
1956	11.3 °C
1957	10.7 °C
1958	12.5 °C
1959	10.2 °C
1960	10.2 °C
1961	11.3 °C
1962	10.5 °C
1963	11.3 °C
1964	9.8 °C
1965	10.9 °C
1966	10.5 °C
1967	11.2 °C
1968	10.1 °C
1969	11.4 °C
1970	10.0 °C
1971	10.8 °C
1972	10.2 °C
1973	9.8 °C
1974	10.5 °C
1975	10.4 °C
1976	10.0 °C
1977	11.4 °C
1978	11.4 °C
1979	11.6 °C
1980	11.5 °C
1981	11.5 °C
1982	11.2 °C
1983	11.1 °C
1984	9.8 °C
1985	10.6 °C
1986	10.5 °C
1987	11.4 °C
1988	10.5 °C
1989	12.2 °C
1990	12.0 °C
1991	11.8 °C
1992	11.3 °C
1994	11.8 °C
1995	11.7 °C
1996	10.1 °C
1997	11.6 °C
1998	12.4 °C
1999	10.2 °C
2000	10.6 °C
2001	10.0 °C
2002	10.3 °C
2003	11.0 °C
2004	12.3 °C
2005	11.7 °C
2006	11.5 °C
2007	10.6 °C
2008	10.6 °C
2009	11.9 °C
2010	11.6 °C
2011	10.5 °C
2012	11.3 °C
2013	12.6 °C
2014	12.5 °C
2015	12.3 °C
2016	12.7 °C
2017	12.1 °C
2018	12.2 °C

What this means for you: Since 1943, Telkwa'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 Smithers A (NOAA GHCN-Daily, from Environment and Climate Change Canada). Years with too many missing days are left out.

Nearby towns

Smithers Houston Terrace Kitimat