When to plant in Benicia, CA
Planting dates worked out from Benicia's own frost records, not a generic zone chart.
Safe to plant out
Mar 7
1 year in 10 has a later frost
Average last frost
Feb 4
about a 50% chance of a later one
Average first fall frost
Dec 7
1 year in 10 by Nov 18
Frost-free days
314
median, 1991–2020
Station used: Martinez Wtp · 5.6 km away · station 12 m, town 8 m. How we match towns to stations
This season
Plan your garden.
Planting dates for common crops
| Crop | Start indoors | Plant out or sow | Harvest from |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tomato | Jan 11 – Jan 25 | Mar 8 – Mar 22 | May 2 |
| Sweet pepper | Dec 28 – Jan 11 | Mar 8 – Mar 22 | May 7 |
| Lettuce (leaf) | Dec 3 – Dec 10 | Jan 7 – Jan 21 | Feb 16 |
| Peas | — | Dec 24 – Jan 21 | Feb 17 |
| Bush beans | — | Feb 28 – Mar 21 | Apr 19 |
| Carrot | — | Jan 14 – Feb 25 | Mar 15 |
| Beet | — | Jan 7 – Feb 18 | Feb 26 |
| Potato | — | Jan 14 – Feb 4 | Mar 25 |
| Kale | Nov 26 – Dec 10 | Jan 7 – Jan 21 | Feb 19 |
| Broccoli | Nov 26 – Dec 10 | Jan 7 – Jan 28 | Mar 8 |
| Cucumber | Feb 8 – Feb 15 | Mar 8 – Mar 22 | Apr 27 |
| Summer squash and zucchini | Feb 8 – Feb 15 | Mar 8 – Mar 22 | Apr 22 |
| Winter squash | Feb 8 – Feb 15 | Mar 8 – Mar 22 | May 27 |
| Sweet corn | — | Feb 28 – Mar 21 | Apr 29 |
| Onion (from sets) | — | Jan 7 – Jan 28 | Apr 7 |
| Garlic | — | Nov 16 – Dec 14 (fall) | following summer |
| Spinach | — | Dec 24 – Jan 21 | Jan 31 |
| Basil | Jan 25 – Feb 8 | Mar 8 – Mar 22 | May 4 |
Benicia'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 |
|---|---|
| 1971 | Mar 6 |
| 1972 | Feb 2 |
| 1973 | Jan 26 |
| 1974 | Feb 23 |
| 1975 | Jan 30 |
| 1976 | Apr 16 |
| 1977 | Jan 29 |
| 1979 | Feb 4 |
| 1980 | Jan 30 |
| 1982 | Feb 7 |
| 1983 | Jan 12 |
| 1984 | Feb 26 |
| 1985 | Feb 10 |
| 1987 | Feb 26 |
| 1988 | Feb 5 |
| 1989 | Feb 14 |
| 1990 | Feb 20 |
| 1991 | Jan 30 |
| 1992 | Jan 13 |
| 1993 | Jan 12 |
| 1994 | Feb 13 |
| 1995 | Feb 15 |
| 1996 | Feb 26 |
| 1997 | Jan 15 |
| 1999 | Apr 4 |
| 2001 | Jan 17 |
| 2002 | Feb 1 |
| 2003 | Feb 9 |
| 2004 | Jan 5 |
| 2005 | Jan 30 |
| 2006 | Feb 16 |
| 2007 | Feb 3 |
| 2008 | Feb 5 |
| 2009 | Mar 12 |
| 2011 | Mar 1 |
| 2012 | Feb 5 |
| 2013 | Jan 20 |
| 2014 | Feb 5 |
| 2015 | Jan 4 |
| 2016 | Jan 15 |
| 2017 | Mar 6 |
| 2018 | Apr 17 |
| 2019 | Feb 25 |
Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend
See the data as a table
| Year | Frost-free days |
|---|---|
| 1970 | 352 |
| 1971 | 276 |
| 1972 | 305 |
| 1973 | 338 |
| 1974 | 303 |
| 1975 | 294 |
| 1976 | 226 |
| 1977 | 293 |
| 1978 | 316 |
| 1979 | 289 |
| 1980 | 314 |
| 1981 | 363 |
| 1982 | 325 |
| 1983 | 313 |
| 1984 | 292 |
| 1985 | 274 |
| 1986 | 332 |
| 1987 | 261 |
| 1988 | 323 |
| 1989 | 304 |
| 1990 | 280 |
| 1991 | 334 |
| 1992 | 325 |
| 1993 | 315 |
| 1994 | 278 |
| 1995 | 318 |
| 1996 | 307 |
| 1997 | 344 |
| 1998 | 339 |
| 1999 | 270 |
| 2000 | 363 |
| 2001 | 347 |
| 2002 | 332 |
| 2003 | 320 |
| 2004 | 327 |
| 2005 | 300 |
| 2006 | 285 |
| 2007 | 291 |
| 2008 | 306 |
| 2009 | 268 |
| 2010 | 326 |
| 2011 | 251 |
| 2013 | 308 |
| 2014 | 284 |
| 2015 | 325 |
| 2016 | 312 |
| 2017 | 243 |
Each year's average temperature, April to SeptemberLong-term trend
See the data as a table
| Year | Growing-season temperature |
|---|---|
| 1970 | 19.8 °C |
| 1971 | 19.3 °C |
| 1972 | 19.8 °C |
| 1973 | 20.4 °C |
| 1974 | 19.9 °C |
| 1975 | 18.9 °C |
| 1977 | 19.6 °C |
| 1978 | 19.7 °C |
| 1979 | 20.6 °C |
| 1980 | 19.6 °C |
| 1981 | 21.2 °C |
| 1982 | 19.6 °C |
| 1983 | 20.0 °C |
| 1984 | 20.7 °C |
| 1985 | 19.9 °C |
| 1986 | 19.1 °C |
| 1987 | 19.8 °C |
| 1988 | 20.1 °C |
| 1989 | 19.9 °C |
| 1990 | 20.0 °C |
| 1991 | 18.7 °C |
| 1992 | 20.5 °C |
| 1993 | 19.9 °C |
| 1994 | 19.6 °C |
| 1995 | 19.4 °C |
| 1996 | 20.6 °C |
| 1997 | 21.4 °C |
| 1998 | 19.1 °C |
| 1999 | 18.7 °C |
| 2000 | 19.8 °C |
| 2001 | 20.0 °C |
| 2002 | 19.6 °C |
| 2003 | 19.8 °C |
| 2004 | 20.0 °C |
| 2005 | 18.2 °C |
| 2006 | 19.4 °C |
| 2007 | 19.6 °C |
| 2008 | 19.4 °C |
| 2009 | 18.5 °C |
| 2010 | 18.1 °C |
| 2011 | 18.2 °C |
| 2012 | 19.4 °C |
| 2013 | 19.7 °C |
| 2014 | 18.6 °C |
| 2015 | 19.6 °C |
| 2016 | 18.9 °C |
| 2017 | 19.2 °C |
| 2018 | 18.3 °C |
What this means for you: Since 1971, Benicia's last spring frost has stayed at about the same time of year. The frost-free season has shrunk by about 2 days per decade. Year-to-year swings are large, so keep using the safe date rather than the trend.
Source: daily records from Martinez Wtp (NOAA GHCN-Daily). Years with too many missing days are left out.