When to plant in Elberta, AL

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

Safe to plant out

Mar 21

1 year in 10 has a later frost

Average last frost

Mar 4

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Nov 23

1 year in 10 by Nov 5

Frost-free days

262

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Robertsdale · 19.5 km away · station 49 m, town 20 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	Jan 24 – Feb 7	Mar 21 – Apr 4	May 15
Sweet pepper	Jan 10 – Jan 24	Mar 21 – Apr 4	May 20
Lettuce (leaf)	Dec 31 – Jan 7	Feb 4 – Feb 18	Mar 16
Peas	—	Jan 21 – Feb 18	Mar 17
Bush beans	—	Mar 14 – Apr 4	May 3
Carrot	—	Feb 11 – Mar 25	Apr 12
Beet	—	Feb 4 – Mar 18	Mar 26
Potato	—	Feb 11 – Mar 4	Apr 22
Kale	Dec 24 – Jan 7	Feb 4 – Feb 18	Mar 19
Broccoli	Dec 24 – Jan 7	Feb 4 – Feb 25	Apr 5
Cucumber	Feb 21 – Feb 28	Mar 21 – Apr 4	May 10
Summer squash and zucchini	Feb 21 – Feb 28	Mar 21 – Apr 4	May 5
Winter squash	Feb 21 – Feb 28	Mar 21 – Apr 4	Jun 9
Sweet corn	—	Mar 14 – Apr 4	May 13
Onion (from sets)	—	Feb 4 – Feb 25	May 5
Garlic	—	Nov 9 – Dec 7 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Jan 21 – Feb 18	Feb 28
Basil	Feb 7 – Feb 21	Mar 21 – Apr 4	May 17

Plan all 65 crops for Elberta

Elberta'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
1924	Mar 15
1935	Mar 13
1936	Mar 18
1937	Mar 29
1938	Apr 10
1939	Mar 20
1940	Apr 13
1941	Mar 14
1942	Apr 2
1943	Mar 23
1944	Apr 6
1945	Feb 9
1946	Mar 1
1947	Mar 17
1948	Mar 29
1949	Mar 19
1950	Mar 31
1951	Mar 14
1952	Feb 8
1953	Feb 22
1954	Mar 16
1955	Mar 29
1956	Mar 21
1957	Mar 27
1958	Feb 21
1959	Feb 22
1962	Mar 8
1963	Feb 28
1964	Mar 1
1965	Mar 22
1966	Mar 7
1967	Feb 27
1968	Mar 25
1969	Mar 27
1970	Mar 14
1971	Mar 21
1972	Feb 20
1973	Feb 18
1974	Feb 28
1975	Feb 9
1976	Feb 23
1977	Feb 22
1978	Mar 6
1979	Feb 12
1980	Mar 4
1981	Feb 13
1982	Mar 9
1983	Mar 25
1984	Mar 2
1985	Feb 17
1986	Mar 23
1987	Apr 1
1988	Mar 18
1989	Feb 26
1990	Mar 21
1991	Mar 12
1992	Feb 11
1993	Mar 16
1994	Feb 26
1995	Mar 10
1996	Mar 12
1997	Feb 12
2001	Feb 7
2002	Mar 7
2003	Mar 31
2005	Mar 2
2006	Feb 28
2007	Mar 6
2008	Mar 26
2009	Mar 4
2010	Mar 7
2011	Feb 14
2012	Feb 14
2013	Mar 28
2014	Mar 1
2015	Mar 7
2016	Feb 14
2017	Mar 17
2018	Mar 16
2019	Mar 8
2020	Mar 1

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1924	255
1935	249
1936	243
1937	208
1938	212
1939	225
1940	215
1941	239
1942	207
1943	231
1944	228
1945	287
1946	278
1947	254
1948	271
1949	244
1950	225
1951	233
1952	263
1953	295
1954	228
1955	219
1956	233
1957	214
1958	280
1959	257
1962	273
1963	247
1964	265
1965	252
1966	240
1967	252
1968	217
1969	222
1970	247
1971	284
1972	283
1973	292
1974	270
1975	278
1976	255
1977	261
1978	278
1979	290
1980	282
1981	280
1982	241
1983	257
1984	265
1985	288
1986	257
1987	224
1988	255
1989	236
1990	262
1991	236
1992	290
1993	228
1994	277
1996	281
1997	277
2005	260
2006	279
2007	254
2008	237
2010	264
2011	269
2012	283
2013	244
2014	257
2015	260
2016	298
2017	266
2018	244
2019	249

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1924	24.3 °C
1935	24.5 °C
1936	24.7 °C
1937	24.3 °C
1938	24.7 °C
1939	24.6 °C
1941	25.2 °C
1942	24.3 °C
1943	25.4 °C
1944	25.0 °C
1945	25.0 °C
1946	24.4 °C
1947	24.7 °C
1948	24.8 °C
1949	24.4 °C
1950	23.9 °C
1951	24.9 °C
1952	24.8 °C
1953	24.8 °C
1954	25.5 °C
1955	25.1 °C
1956	24.5 °C
1957	24.9 °C
1958	24.7 °C
1959	24.5 °C
1962	24.7 °C
1963	25.0 °C
1964	24.6 °C
1965	24.5 °C
1966	24.1 °C
1967	24.2 °C
1968	24.6 °C
1969	24.3 °C
1970	25.3 °C
1971	24.5 °C
1972	25.1 °C
1973	24.7 °C
1974	24.5 °C
1975	23.8 °C
1976	24.0 °C
1977	25.1 °C
1978	25.0 °C
1979	24.4 °C
1980	25.1 °C
1981	24.8 °C
1982	24.7 °C
1983	23.8 °C
1984	23.7 °C
1985	24.2 °C
1986	24.7 °C
1987	24.2 °C
1988	24.1 °C
1989	24.1 °C
1990	24.4 °C
1991	25.0 °C
1992	23.7 °C
1993	23.2 °C
1994	23.3 °C
1996	24.1 °C
1997	23.9 °C
1999	25.0 °C
2000	25.3 °C
2002	25.4 °C
2004	24.5 °C
2005	24.8 °C
2006	25.3 °C
2007	25.0 °C
2008	24.6 °C
2010	25.5 °C
2011	25.5 °C
2012	24.9 °C
2013	24.5 °C
2014	24.9 °C
2015	25.4 °C
2016	25.0 °C
2017	24.5 °C
2018	24.8 °C
2019	25.0 °C

What this means for you: Since 1924, Elberta's last spring frost has come about 2 days earlier per decade, on average. The frost-free season has grown 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 Robertsdale (NOAA GHCN-Daily). Years with too many missing days are left out.

Nearby towns

Foley Summerdale Orange Beach Lillian Robertsdale Gulf Shores