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When to plant in Inverness, CA

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

Safe to plant out
Apr 3
1 year in 10 has a later frost
Average last frost
Feb 24
about a 50% chance of a later one
Average first fall frost
Nov 26
1 year in 10 by Nov 9
Frost-free days
276
median, 1991–2020

Station used: Petaluma Ap · 27.9 km away · station 6 m, town 13 m. How we match towns to stations

This season

Plan your garden.

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Planting dates for common crops

CropStart indoorsPlant out or sowHarvest from
Tomato Feb 6 – Feb 20 Apr 3 – Apr 17 May 28
Sweet pepper Jan 23 – Feb 6 Apr 3 – Apr 17 Jun 2
Lettuce (leaf) Dec 23 – Dec 30 Jan 27 – Feb 10 Mar 8
Peas — Jan 13 – Feb 10 Mar 9
Bush beans — Mar 27 – Apr 17 May 16
Carrot — Feb 3 – Mar 17 Apr 4
Beet — Jan 27 – Mar 10 Mar 18
Potato — Feb 3 – Feb 24 Apr 14
Kale Dec 16 – Dec 30 Jan 27 – Feb 10 Mar 11
Broccoli Dec 16 – Dec 30 Jan 27 – Feb 17 Mar 28
Cucumber Mar 6 – Mar 13 Apr 3 – Apr 17 May 23
Summer squash and zucchini Mar 6 – Mar 13 Apr 3 – Apr 17 May 18
Winter squash Mar 6 – Mar 13 Apr 3 – Apr 17 Jun 22
Sweet corn — Mar 27 – Apr 17 May 26
Onion (from sets) — Jan 27 – Feb 17 Apr 27
Garlic — Nov 12 – Dec 10 (fall) following summer
Spinach — Jan 13 – Feb 10 Feb 20
Basil Feb 20 – Mar 6 Apr 3 – Apr 17 May 30

Plan all 65 crops for Inverness

Inverness's weather over time

How the growing season has shifted here, year by year, from the station's own records.

Jan 1Feb 1Mar 1Apr 1May 1Jun 1 19201930194019501960197019801990200020102020
Each year's last spring frostLong-term trend
See the data as a table
YearLast spring frost
1913Mar 27
1914Mar 27
1915Feb 13
1916May 10
1917May 4
1918May 9
1919Apr 14
1920Mar 19
1921Jan 14
1922Jan 20
1923Mar 24
1924Jan 24
1925Apr 6
1926Jan 27
1928Mar 14
1929Apr 11
1930Jun 1
1931Jan 19
1932Mar 4
1933Apr 18
1935Mar 24
1936Apr 1
1937Apr 9
1938Mar 31
1939Mar 5
1940Mar 12
1941Jan 2
1942Feb 27
1943Feb 11
1944Mar 15
1945Mar 18
1946Feb 14
1948Apr 12
1949Feb 14
1950Mar 13
1951Mar 11
1952Feb 18
1953Mar 2
1954Mar 27
1955Apr 27
1956Mar 15
1957Mar 23
1958Mar 17
1959Apr 18
1960Apr 24
1961Apr 19
1962Mar 13
1963Apr 21
1964Apr 24
1965Feb 24
1966Mar 18
1967Mar 5
1968Mar 20
1969Mar 11
1970Feb 20
1971Apr 24
1972Apr 28
1973Mar 18
1974Mar 9
1975Feb 23
1976Apr 2
1977Apr 9
1979Feb 5
1980Feb 13
1982Mar 27
1983Apr 23
1984Feb 23
1985May 10
1986Feb 10
1987Feb 27
1988Mar 13
1989Feb 15
1990Feb 20
1991Jan 31
1992Feb 4
1993Feb 15
1994Mar 23
1995Feb 15
1996Feb 26
1997Mar 5
2001Jan 31
2002Mar 9
2003Feb 10
2004Feb 11
2005Jan 13
2006Mar 13
2007Feb 27
2008Apr 21
2009Apr 5
2011Mar 1
2012Apr 7
2013Feb 26
2014Feb 5
2015Mar 3
2017Feb 25
2018Mar 14
2019Feb 23
2020Apr 2
2021Jan 26
2022Mar 12
2023Mar 27
2025Feb 11
2026Feb 20

What this means for you: Since 1913, Inverness's last spring frost has come about 2 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 Petaluma Ap (NOAA GHCN-Daily). Years with too many missing days are left out.

Nearby towns

Lagunitas-Forest KnollsWoodacrePetalumaNovatoLucas Valley-MarinwoodSleepy Hollow