When to plant in Atascadero, CA

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

Safe to plant out

Apr 12

1 year in 10 has a later frost

Average last frost

Mar 18

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Nov 7

1 year in 10 by Oct 27

Frost-free days

231

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Paso Robles · 15.4 km away · station 222 m, town 268 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	Feb 15 – Mar 1	Apr 12 – Apr 26	Jun 6
Sweet pepper	Feb 1 – Feb 15	Apr 12 – Apr 26	Jun 11
Lettuce (leaf)	Jan 14 – Jan 21	Feb 18 – Mar 4	Mar 30
Peas	—	Feb 4 – Mar 4	Mar 31
Bush beans	—	Apr 5 – Apr 26	May 25
Carrot	—	Feb 25 – Apr 8	Apr 26
Beet	—	Feb 18 – Apr 1	Apr 9
Potato	—	Feb 25 – Mar 18	May 6
Kale	Jan 7 – Jan 21	Feb 18 – Mar 4	Apr 2
Broccoli	Jan 7 – Jan 21	Feb 18 – Mar 11	Apr 19
Cucumber	Mar 15 – Mar 22	Apr 12 – Apr 26	Jun 1
Summer squash and zucchini	Mar 15 – Mar 22	Apr 12 – Apr 26	May 27
Winter squash	Mar 15 – Mar 22	Apr 12 – Apr 26	Jul 1
Sweet corn	—	Apr 5 – Apr 26	Jun 4
Onion (from sets)	—	Feb 18 – Mar 11	May 19
Garlic	—	Oct 24 – Nov 21 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Feb 4 – Mar 4	Mar 14
Basil	Mar 1 – Mar 15	Apr 12 – Apr 26	Jun 8

Plan all 65 crops for Atascadero

Atascadero'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
1894	Apr 17
1895	Apr 5
1897	Feb 24
1898	Mar 27
1900	Apr 26
1901	Apr 10
1902	Jun 1
1903	May 22
1910	May 5
1911	May 15
1912	May 22
1913	May 4
1914	Apr 29
1915	May 2
1916	May 20
1917	May 26
1918	May 26
1919	Apr 19
1920	Apr 24
1921	Apr 15
1922	May 10
1923	Mar 24
1924	Apr 16
1925	Apr 21
1926	Jan 27
1927	Apr 11
1928	Feb 18
1929	Apr 13
1930	Mar 1
1931	Mar 27
1932	Apr 23
1933	May 10
1934	Apr 5
1935	Apr 10
1936	Apr 7
1937	Apr 30
1938	Apr 1
1939	Apr 16
1940	Mar 14
1942	Apr 2
1943	May 14
1944	May 11
1945	Apr 15
1946	Apr 3
1947	Feb 28
1948	Mar 28
1949	Mar 31
1950	May 8
1951	Apr 18
1952	Mar 23
1953	Apr 12
1954	Mar 18
1955	Apr 19
1956	Apr 12
1957	Apr 7
1958	Mar 12
1959	Apr 16
1960	Apr 22
1961	May 12
1962	Mar 23
1963	Apr 2
1964	May 7
1965	May 7
1966	Apr 21
1967	Apr 30
1968	May 6
1969	Mar 16
1970	Apr 29
1971	Apr 25
1972	May 25
1973	Jun 15
1974	May 18
1975	Apr 26
1976	Apr 30
1977	May 26
1978	Apr 8
1979	Apr 18
1980	Apr 3
1981	Feb 27
1982	Apr 7
1983	Apr 13
1984	Apr 29
1985	Mar 30
1986	Mar 14
1987	Apr 19
1988	Apr 2
1989	Mar 4
1990	Mar 14
1991	Mar 17
1992	Feb 6
1993	Feb 28
1994	Mar 24
1995	Mar 27
1996	Feb 28
1997	Apr 14
1998	Mar 30
1999	Apr 11
2000	Feb 25
2001	Apr 9
2002	Mar 20
2003	Apr 6
2004	Feb 13
2005	Feb 5
2007	Mar 28
2008	Mar 31
2009	Apr 17
2010	Mar 15
2011	Apr 10
2012	Apr 9
2013	Apr 17
2014	Feb 6
2015	Mar 6
2016	Mar 29
2017	Mar 6
2018	Mar 6
2019	Feb 24
2020	Mar 28
2021	Mar 18
2022	Mar 13
2023	Mar 8
2024	Apr 7
2025	Mar 11
2026	Feb 22

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1894	216
1895	210
1897	256
1900	186
1901	216
1902	120
1910	173
1911	133
1912	136
1913	153
1914	136
1915	149
1916	158
1917	145
1918	152
1919	180
1920	178
1921	215
1922	172
1923	248
1924	176
1925	196
1926	319
1927	225
1928	237
1929	196
1930	257
1931	229
1932	179
1933	178
1934	236
1935	195
1936	210
1937	191
1938	219
1939	192
1940	227
1942	209
1944	180
1945	190
1946	198
1947	247
1948	180
1949	189
1950	145
1951	186
1952	224
1953	190
1954	213
1955	190
1956	196
1957	209
1958	243
1959	195
1960	170
1961	149
1962	236
1963	212
1964	190
1965	161
1966	175
1967	168
1968	154
1969	201
1970	180
1971	158
1972	157
1973	109
1974	168
1975	165
1976	180
1977	166
1978	204
1979	194
1980	195
1981	226
1982	210
1983	208
1984	173
1985	194
1986	232
1987	209
1988	229
1989	239
1990	211
1991	227
1992	276
1993	250
1994	223
1995	244
1996	234
1997	194
1998	214
1999	221
2000	257
2001	231
2002	225
2003	209
2007	238
2008	193
2009	194
2010	241
2011	208
2012	214
2013	201
2014	290
2015	243
2016	239
2017	256
2018	247
2019	246
2020	225
2021	249
2022	234
2023	234
2024	213
2025	263

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1894	18.7 °C
1895	17.7 °C
1897	19.2 °C
1900	18.0 °C
1901	18.4 °C
1902	17.1 °C
1910	18.4 °C
1911	17.3 °C
1912	17.4 °C
1913	18.7 °C
1914	17.9 °C
1915	18.5 °C
1916	18.7 °C
1917	19.5 °C
1918	19.1 °C
1919	19.1 °C
1920	18.3 °C
1921	18.4 °C
1922	19.0 °C
1923	18.1 °C
1924	18.5 °C
1925	18.1 °C
1926	19.4 °C
1927	18.5 °C
1928	19.3 °C
1929	18.9 °C
1930	18.4 °C
1931	20.3 °C
1932	18.7 °C
1933	18.1 °C
1934	18.9 °C
1935	18.5 °C
1936	19.3 °C
1937	19.0 °C
1938	18.6 °C
1939	19.4 °C
1940	19.2 °C
1942	19.2 °C
1943	18.7 °C
1944	18.1 °C
1945	18.9 °C
1946	19.0 °C
1947	19.5 °C
1948	18.4 °C
1949	19.0 °C
1950	18.8 °C
1951	18.7 °C
1952	19.2 °C
1953	18.6 °C
1954	19.1 °C
1955	18.2 °C
1956	18.7 °C
1957	19.4 °C
1958	19.8 °C
1959	19.7 °C
1960	19.6 °C
1961	19.9 °C
1962	18.9 °C
1963	18.2 °C
1964	18.2 °C
1965	17.9 °C
1966	19.2 °C
1967	19.1 °C
1968	18.7 °C
1969	19.4 °C
1970	18.9 °C
1971	18.9 °C
1972	18.8 °C
1974	19.1 °C
1975	18.2 °C
1976	18.9 °C
1977	19.0 °C
1978	19.2 °C
1979	20.1 °C
1980	18.9 °C
1981	20.2 °C
1982	18.7 °C
1983	19.3 °C
1984	20.8 °C
1989	19.9 °C
1990	20.1 °C
1991	18.9 °C
1992	20.2 °C
1993	18.9 °C
1994	19.1 °C
1995	18.7 °C
1996	19.4 °C
1997	19.6 °C
1998	18.2 °C
1999	17.6 °C
2000	19.3 °C
2001	19.3 °C
2002	18.9 °C
2005	18.7 °C
2007	19.9 °C
2008	20.0 °C
2009	19.9 °C
2010	18.2 °C
2011	18.7 °C
2012	19.9 °C
2013	20.6 °C
2014	20.4 °C
2015	20.0 °C
2016	20.1 °C
2017	21.0 °C
2018	20.1 °C
2019	20.0 °C
2020	20.3 °C
2021	19.9 °C
2022	21.0 °C
2023	19.2 °C
2024	20.4 °C
2025	19.9 °C
2026	19.9 °C

What this means for you: Since 1894, Atascadero's last spring frost has come about 3 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 Paso Robles (NOAA GHCN-Daily). Years with too many missing days are left out.

Nearby towns

Templeton Santa Margarita Paso Robles Cayucos Morro Bay San Luis Obispo