When to plant in Bonny Doon, CA

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

Safe to plant out

Apr 23

1 year in 10 has a later frost

Average last frost

Mar 29

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Nov 7

1 year in 10 by Oct 19

Frost-free days

231

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Ben Lomond #4 · 7.9 km away · station 133 m, town 382 m. How we match towns to stations

The station sits 249 m lower than the town, so frost dates here may be off by a week or more. Check them against local experience.

This season

Plan your garden.

Build my Bonny Doon plan

Planting dates for common crops

Crop	Start indoors	Plant out or sow	Harvest from
Tomato	Feb 26 – Mar 12	Apr 23 – May 7	Jun 17
Sweet pepper	Feb 12 – Feb 26	Apr 23 – May 7	Jun 22
Lettuce (leaf)	Jan 25 – Feb 1	Mar 1 – Mar 15	Apr 10
Peas	—	Feb 15 – Mar 15	Apr 11
Bush beans	—	Apr 16 – May 7	Jun 5
Carrot	—	Mar 8 – Apr 19	May 7
Beet	—	Mar 1 – Apr 12	Apr 20
Potato	—	Mar 8 – Mar 29	May 17
Kale	Jan 18 – Feb 1	Mar 1 – Mar 15	Apr 13
Broccoli	Jan 18 – Feb 1	Mar 1 – Mar 22	Apr 30
Cucumber	Mar 26 – Apr 2	Apr 23 – May 7	Jun 12
Summer squash and zucchini	Mar 26 – Apr 2	Apr 23 – May 7	Jun 7
Winter squash	Mar 26 – Apr 2	Apr 23 – May 7	Jul 12
Sweet corn	—	Apr 16 – May 7	Jun 15
Onion (from sets)	—	Mar 1 – Mar 22	May 30
Garlic	—	Oct 24 – Nov 21 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Feb 15 – Mar 15	Mar 25
Basil	Mar 12 – Mar 26	Apr 23 – May 7	Jun 19

Plan all 65 crops for Bonny Doon

Bonny Doon'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
1973	Mar 24
1974	Mar 10
1975	Apr 17
1976	Apr 2
1977	Apr 22
1978	Jan 25
1979	Feb 17
1980	Jan 30
1981	Feb 23
1982	Apr 7
1983	Apr 13
1984	Apr 27
1985	Mar 26
1986	Mar 14
1987	Mar 24
1988	Mar 17
1989	Mar 4
1990	Mar 13
1991	Apr 8
1992	Feb 5
1993	Feb 28
1994	Mar 23
1995	Mar 28
1996	Mar 30
1997	Apr 1
1998	Apr 16
1999	Apr 10
2000	Apr 18
2003	Apr 5
2004	Feb 13
2005	Mar 16
2006	Mar 19
2007	Mar 29
2008	Apr 21
2009	Apr 29
2010	Mar 14
2011	Apr 10
2012	Mar 12
2013	Mar 23
2014	May 13
2015	Jun 29
2016	Mar 31
2017	Mar 3
2018	Mar 19
2019	Mar 15
2020	Feb 20
2021	Mar 21
2022	May 10
2023	Apr 13
2025	Mar 9

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1973	223
1974	257
1975	189
1976	239
1977	200
1978	280
1979	275
1980	285
1981	278
1982	220
1983	208
1984	187
1985	230
1986	256
1987	246
1988	245
1989	241
1990	254
1991	205
1992	278
1993	259
1994	224
1995	263
1996	204
1997	244
1998	196
1999	225
2000	206
2004	279
2005	248
2006	235
2007	236
2008	174
2009	193
2010	254
2011	212
2012	243
2013	225
2014	104
2015	65
2016	231
2017	276
2018	234
2019	227
2020	261
2021	247
2022	184
2023	198
2025	296

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1973	18.2 °C
1974	17.9 °C
1975	17.1 °C
1976	18.0 °C
1977	17.7 °C
1978	18.0 °C
1979	18.4 °C
1980	17.2 °C
1981	18.4 °C
1982	17.2 °C
1983	17.9 °C
1984	18.8 °C
1985	18.1 °C
1986	17.2 °C
1987	18.0 °C
1988	17.9 °C
1989	17.8 °C
1990	18.4 °C
1991	16.9 °C
1992	18.7 °C
1993	17.9 °C
1994	17.2 °C
1995	17.5 °C
1996	18.9 °C
1997	19.4 °C
1998	17.3 °C
1999	17.1 °C
2000	18.3 °C
2003	18.2 °C
2004	18.2 °C
2005	17.3 °C
2006	18.0 °C
2007	17.8 °C
2008	18.0 °C
2009	18.0 °C
2010	16.8 °C
2011	16.7 °C
2012	19.5 °C
2013	19.7 °C
2014	19.0 °C
2015	18.0 °C
2016	19.8 °C
2017	20.1 °C
2018	19.1 °C
2019	19.7 °C
2020	20.3 °C
2021	19.4 °C
2022	20.3 °C
2023	19.1 °C

What this means for you: Since 1973, Bonny Doon's last spring frost has come about 4 days later per decade, on average. The frost-free season has shrunk by about 5 days per decade. Year-to-year swings are large, so keep using the safe date rather than the trend.

Source: daily records from Ben Lomond #4 (NOAA GHCN-Daily). Years with too many missing days are left out.

Nearby towns

Felton Ben Lomond Brookdale Mount Hermon Boulder Creek Lompico