When to plant in Ketchikan, AK

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

Safe to plant out

May 14

1 year in 10 has a later frost

Average last frost

Apr 24

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Oct 19

1 year in 10 by Oct 1

Frost-free days

180

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Ketchikan Ap · 5.1 km away · station 26 m, town 8 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 11 – Apr 25	Jun 6 – Jun 20	Jul 31
Sweet pepper	Mar 28 – Apr 11	Jun 6 – Jun 20	Aug 5
Lettuce (leaf)	Mar 10 – Mar 17	Apr 14 – Apr 28	May 24
Peas	—	Apr 14 – May 12	Jun 8
Bush beans	—	May 26 – Jun 16	Jul 15
Carrot	—	May 2 – Jun 13	Jul 1
Beet	—	May 2 – Jun 13	Jun 21
Potato	—	May 2 – May 23	Jul 11
Kale	Mar 10 – Mar 24	Apr 21 – May 5	Jun 3
Broccoli	Mar 3 – Mar 17	Apr 14 – May 5	Jun 13
Cucumber	May 9 – May 16	Jun 6 – Jun 20	Jul 26
Summer squash and zucchini	May 9 – May 16	Jun 6 – Jun 20	Jul 21
Winter squash	May 9 – May 16	Jun 6 – Jun 20	Aug 25
Sweet corn	—	May 26 – Jun 16	Jul 25
Onion (from sets)	—	Apr 14 – May 5	Jul 13
Garlic	—	Sep 16 – Oct 14 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Apr 14 – May 12	May 22
Basil	Apr 25 – May 9	Jun 6 – Jun 20	Aug 2

Plan all 65 crops for Ketchikan

Ketchikan'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
1911	Jun 10
1914	Jun 5
1916	May 23
1917	May 24
1918	May 23
1919	May 21
1920	May 27
1921	May 12
1922	May 25
1923	Apr 28
1924	Apr 23
1925	Apr 29
1926	May 6
1927	May 6
1928	May 15
1929	May 12
1930	May 8
1931	Apr 19
1932	Apr 24
1933	Apr 29
1934	Apr 17
1935	Apr 30
1936	Apr 13
1937	Apr 27
1938	Apr 21
1939	Apr 15
1940	Mar 15
1941	Apr 15
1942	Apr 15
1943	Apr 26
1944	Apr 12
1945	May 4
1946	Apr 18
1947	Apr 4
1948	Apr 29
1949	May 1
1950	Apr 23
1951	Apr 23
1952	May 8
1953	Apr 16
1954	May 1
1955	Apr 28
1956	May 2
1957	May 1
1958	Apr 19
1959	Apr 28
1960	Apr 6
1961	Apr 18
1962	May 7
1963	May 2
1964	May 13
1965	May 13
1966	Apr 18
1967	Apr 22
1968	Apr 21
1969	Apr 5
1970	Apr 27
1971	May 9
1972	May 24
1973	Mar 21
1974	Mar 31
1975	Apr 3
1976	Apr 22
1977	May 1
1979	May 5
1980	Apr 8
1983	Apr 14
1984	Apr 24
1989	Apr 22
1990	Apr 29
1991	Apr 1
1992	Apr 12
1993	Apr 11
1994	Mar 18
1995	Apr 18
1996	May 11
1997	May 2
1998	May 10
1999	May 13
2000	May 8
2001	May 6
2002	May 24
2003	May 20
2004	Apr 20
2005	Apr 17
2006	May 14
2007	May 18
2008	May 9
2009	Apr 9
2010	Apr 24
2011	Apr 23
2012	Apr 24
2013	Apr 30
2014	Apr 13
2015	May 3
2016	Mar 18
2017	Apr 2
2018	Apr 17
2019	Apr 27
2020	Apr 12
2021	Apr 26
2022	Apr 29
2023	Apr 19
2024	Apr 20

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1914	103
1916	130
1917	144
1918	145
1919	145
1920	129
1921	172
1922	130
1923	181
1924	167
1925	152
1926	131
1927	147
1928	146
1929	176
1930	154
1931	183
1932	196
1933	172
1934	187
1935	173
1936	200
1937	196
1938	201
1939	173
1940	234
1941	214
1942	200
1943	182
1944	212
1945	176
1946	191
1947	223
1948	209
1949	168
1950	177
1951	183
1952	189
1953	198
1954	155
1955	173
1956	173
1957	188
1958	171
1959	161
1960	214
1961	184
1962	200
1963	179
1964	163
1965	155
1966	184
1967	192
1968	193
1969	202
1970	161
1971	162
1972	122
1973	222
1974	225
1975	206
1976	173
1977	153
1979	180
1984	178
1989	175
1990	178
1991	197
1992	154
1993	222
1994	227
1995	193
1996	141
1997	160
1998	153
1999	153
2000	145
2001	180
2002	138
2003	125
2004	179
2005	167
2006	140
2007	152
2008	173
2009	184
2010	186
2011	193
2012	177
2013	185
2014	210
2015	197
2016	206
2017	213
2018	202
2019	163
2020	191
2021	171
2022	184
2023	186
2024	183

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1914	10.4 °C
1915	12.8 °C
1916	10.7 °C
1918	11.4 °C
1919	10.9 °C
1920	10.0 °C
1922	11.1 °C
1923	12.3 °C
1924	11.5 °C
1925	11.4 °C
1926	11.6 °C
1927	11.2 °C
1928	11.2 °C
1929	10.3 °C
1930	11.9 °C
1931	12.3 °C
1932	11.5 °C
1933	11.4 °C
1934	12.6 °C
1935	11.4 °C
1936	12.9 °C
1937	11.8 °C
1938	11.7 °C
1939	11.1 °C
1940	12.7 °C
1941	12.6 °C
1942	12.8 °C
1943	11.2 °C
1944	11.8 °C
1945	11.1 °C
1946	11.6 °C
1947	11.7 °C
1948	12.9 °C
1949	11.8 °C
1950	11.8 °C
1951	12.3 °C
1952	11.4 °C
1953	12.5 °C
1954	11.4 °C
1955	10.6 °C
1956	11.7 °C
1957	12.3 °C
1958	13.5 °C
1959	11.9 °C
1960	11.4 °C
1961	12.5 °C
1962	11.5 °C
1963	12.3 °C
1964	10.6 °C
1965	11.5 °C
1966	11.4 °C
1967	12.3 °C
1968	11.7 °C
1969	11.9 °C
1970	10.6 °C
1971	10.5 °C
1972	10.6 °C
1973	10.3 °C
1974	11.4 °C
1975	11.2 °C
1976	11.0 °C
1977	12.1 °C
1979	11.9 °C
1983	11.3 °C
1984	10.8 °C
1987	11.9 °C
1988	11.1 °C
1989	12.2 °C
1990	12.3 °C
1991	11.2 °C
1992	11.3 °C
1993	12.8 °C
1994	12.8 °C
1995	12.6 °C
1996	10.8 °C
1997	12.1 °C
1998	11.7 °C
1999	10.2 °C
2000	11.1 °C
2001	10.7 °C
2002	10.5 °C
2003	11.0 °C
2004	12.5 °C
2005	12.2 °C
2006	11.0 °C
2007	11.1 °C
2008	10.5 °C
2009	11.9 °C
2010	11.8 °C
2011	11.2 °C
2012	11.0 °C
2013	12.4 °C
2014	12.6 °C
2015	12.8 °C
2016	13.1 °C
2017	12.1 °C
2018	12.7 °C
2019	12.6 °C
2020	11.9 °C
2021	12.0 °C
2022	12.3 °C
2023	12.8 °C
2024	12.2 °C

What this means for you: Since 1911, Ketchikan's last spring frost has come about 1 day earlier per decade, on average. The frost-free season has grown by about 1 days per decade. Year-to-year swings are large, so keep using the safe date rather than the trend.

Source: daily records from Ketchikan Ap (NOAA GHCN-Daily). Years with too many missing days are left out.

Nearby towns

Metlakatla Wrangell Petersburg