When to plant in Big Pine, CA

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

Last spring frost

Early · riskyApr 139 years in 10 still get a later frost
TypicalApr 28about half of years get a later frost
Safe to plant outMay 211 year in 10 gets a later frost

Hardy crops like peas and spinach are timed from the typical date. Wait for the safe date before planting out tomatoes, peppers and squash.

First fall frost

EarlySep 301 year in 10 has frost by then
TypicalOct 14about half of years have had frost
LateOct 279 years in 10 have had frost by then

A typical year has 165 frost-free days. Plan for tender crops to be ripe by the early date.

Station used: Bishop Ap · 23.7 km away · station 1253 m, town 1216 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	Mar 26 – Apr 9	May 21 – Jun 4	Jul 15
Sweet pepper	Mar 12 – Mar 26	May 21 – Jun 4	Jul 20
Lettuce (leaf)	Feb 24 – Mar 3	Mar 31 – Apr 14	May 10
Peas	—	Mar 17 – Apr 14	May 11
Bush beans	—	May 14 – Jun 4	Jul 3
Carrot	—	Apr 7 – May 19	Jun 6
Beet	—	Mar 31 – May 12	May 20
Potato	—	Apr 7 – Apr 28	Jun 16
Kale	Feb 17 – Mar 3	Mar 31 – Apr 14	May 13
Broccoli	Feb 17 – Mar 3	Mar 31 – Apr 21	May 30
Cucumber	Apr 23 – Apr 30	May 21 – Jun 4	Jul 10
Summer squash and zucchini	Apr 23 – Apr 30	May 21 – Jun 4	Jul 5
Winter squash	Apr 23 – Apr 30	May 21 – Jun 4	Aug 9
Sweet corn	—	May 14 – Jun 4	Jul 13
Onion (from sets)	—	Mar 31 – Apr 21	Jun 29
Garlic	—	Sep 30 – Oct 28 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Mar 17 – Apr 14	Apr 24
Basil	Apr 9 – Apr 23	May 21 – Jun 4	Jul 17

Plan all 65 crops for Big Pine

Big Pine'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
1895	May 10
1896	May 15
1897	Apr 21
1898	Apr 8
1899	May 25
1905	May 11
1907	May 1
1909	Apr 22
1914	Jun 26
1916	May 26
1918	May 27
1944	Jun 16
1945	May 19
1947	Apr 23
1948	May 9
1949	Apr 10
1950	May 8
1951	May 2
1952	Apr 15
1953	May 24
1954	Jun 10
1955	Jun 2
1956	May 10
1957	Apr 19
1958	Apr 24
1959	Apr 27
1960	May 24
1961	Apr 27
1962	Apr 30
1963	May 12
1964	May 7
1965	May 7
1966	Apr 21
1967	Jun 1
1968	Apr 25
1969	Apr 25
1970	May 12
1971	May 18
1972	Apr 21
1973	May 1
1974	May 20
1975	May 5
1976	Apr 28
1977	May 18
1978	May 24
1979	Apr 20
1980	May 25
1981	May 7
1982	Apr 23
1983	May 12
1984	Apr 29
1985	Apr 28
1986	May 11
1987	Apr 22
1988	Jun 7
1989	Apr 28
1990	Apr 1
1991	May 12
1992	Mar 26
1993	Apr 23
1994	May 17
1995	Apr 22
1996	Apr 22
1997	Apr 14
1998	May 27
1999	May 4
2000	May 13
2001	Apr 23
2002	May 1
2003	May 11
2004	Apr 18
2005	May 7
2006	Apr 19
2007	Apr 21
2008	May 2
2009	Apr 30
2010	May 27
2011	Jun 3
2012	Apr 16
2013	May 2
2014	Apr 14
2015	Apr 10
2016	Mar 31
2017	Apr 30
2018	Apr 18
2019	Apr 13
2020	May 20
2021	May 23
2022	Jun 18
2023	May 8
2024	May 7

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1897	177
1899	131
1905	155
1916	129
1944	118
1945	125
1947	181
1948	139
1949	181
1950	146
1951	156
1952	148
1953	132
1954	111
1955	126
1956	154
1957	168
1958	179
1959	157
1960	139
1961	165
1962	189
1963	172
1964	170
1965	179
1966	175
1967	135
1968	178
1969	161
1970	148
1971	130
1972	178
1973	161
1974	159
1975	155
1976	181
1977	162
1978	118
1979	184
1980	140
1981	153
1982	160
1983	179
1984	169
1985	164
1986	131
1987	175
1988	154
1989	180
1990	189
1991	164
1992	222
1993	179
1994	152
1995	165
1996	178
1997	176
1998	132
1999	165
2000	150
2001	172
2002	172
2003	171
2004	185
2005	150
2006	157
2007	161
2008	159
2009	154
2010	151
2011	145
2012	190
2013	148
2014	194
2015	207
2016	187
2017	144
2018	179
2019	169
2020	157
2021	138
2022	127
2023	171
2024	166

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1895	18.6 °C
1896	16.9 °C
1897	18.0 °C
1899	18.6 °C
1901	18.5 °C
1905	18.0 °C
1907	17.6 °C
1916	17.4 °C
1944	19.0 °C
1945	19.4 °C
1947	19.4 °C
1948	19.4 °C
1949	20.6 °C
1950	20.4 °C
1951	20.8 °C
1952	19.8 °C
1953	19.2 °C
1954	20.2 °C
1955	18.8 °C
1956	19.4 °C
1957	19.5 °C
1958	20.0 °C
1959	20.3 °C
1960	21.2 °C
1961	20.4 °C
1962	19.5 °C
1963	18.7 °C
1964	19.4 °C
1965	18.5 °C
1966	20.7 °C
1967	19.2 °C
1968	20.0 °C
1969	20.3 °C
1970	19.8 °C
1971	19.6 °C
1972	20.0 °C
1973	20.0 °C
1974	20.4 °C
1975	19.1 °C
1976	19.1 °C
1977	19.9 °C
1978	19.0 °C
1979	20.1 °C
1980	18.8 °C
1981	21.2 °C
1982	19.0 °C
1983	18.6 °C
1984	20.6 °C
1985	20.0 °C
1986	19.0 °C
1987	19.8 °C
1988	19.9 °C
1989	20.3 °C
1990	20.2 °C
1991	19.2 °C
1992	20.6 °C
1993	19.6 °C
1994	20.6 °C
1995	18.6 °C
1996	20.6 °C
1997	19.8 °C
1998	18.1 °C
1999	19.1 °C
2000	20.6 °C
2001	20.7 °C
2002	20.8 °C
2003	20.5 °C
2004	20.0 °C
2005	19.5 °C
2006	20.2 °C
2007	20.8 °C
2008	20.0 °C
2009	20.4 °C
2010	19.3 °C
2011	19.1 °C
2012	20.5 °C
2013	21.2 °C
2014	21.4 °C
2015	21.1 °C
2016	21.3 °C
2017	21.1 °C
2018	21.8 °C
2019	20.0 °C
2020	21.9 °C
2021	22.1 °C
2022	21.6 °C
2023	20.1 °C
2024	21.6 °C

What this means for you: Since 1895, Big Pine's last spring frost has come about 1 day earlier per decade, on average. The frost-free season has grown 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 Bishop Ap (NOAA GHCN-Daily). Years with too many missing days are left out.

Nearby towns

Bishop West Bishop Dixon Lane-Meadow Creek Lone Pine Mammoth Lakes Yokuts Valley