When to plant in Le Grand, CA

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

Safe to plant out

Mar 25

1 year in 10 has a later frost

Average last frost

Feb 25

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Nov 25

1 year in 10 by Nov 10

Frost-free days

278

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Merced · 24.6 km away · station 47 m, town 77 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	Jan 28 – Feb 11	Mar 25 – Apr 8	May 19
Sweet pepper	Jan 14 – Jan 28	Mar 25 – Apr 8	May 24
Lettuce (leaf)	Dec 24 – Dec 31	Jan 28 – Feb 11	Mar 9
Peas	—	Jan 14 – Feb 11	Mar 10
Bush beans	—	Mar 18 – Apr 8	May 7
Carrot	—	Feb 4 – Mar 18	Apr 5
Beet	—	Jan 28 – Mar 11	Mar 19
Potato	—	Feb 4 – Feb 25	Apr 15
Kale	Dec 17 – Dec 31	Jan 28 – Feb 11	Mar 12
Broccoli	Dec 17 – Dec 31	Jan 28 – Feb 18	Mar 29
Cucumber	Feb 25 – Mar 4	Mar 25 – Apr 8	May 14
Summer squash and zucchini	Feb 25 – Mar 4	Mar 25 – Apr 8	May 9
Winter squash	Feb 25 – Mar 4	Mar 25 – Apr 8	Jun 13
Sweet corn	—	Mar 18 – Apr 8	May 17
Onion (from sets)	—	Jan 28 – Feb 18	Apr 28
Garlic	—	Nov 11 – Dec 9 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Jan 14 – Feb 11	Feb 21
Basil	Feb 11 – Feb 25	Mar 25 – Apr 8	May 21

Plan all 65 crops for Le Grand

Le Grand'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
1900	May 11
1902	Mar 28
1905	Feb 14
1906	Apr 29
1907	Feb 27
1909	Mar 27
1911	Apr 13
1912	Feb 27
1913	Mar 1
1914	Mar 30
1915	Feb 21
1916	Feb 2
1917	Mar 16
1918	Apr 5
1919	Mar 10
1920	Feb 26
1921	Feb 15
1922	Mar 12
1923	Mar 21
1924	Mar 22
1925	Mar 13
1926	Jan 27
1927	Mar 19
1928	Feb 27
1929	Apr 10
1930	Feb 24
1931	Jan 21
1932	Mar 4
1933	Mar 24
1936	Mar 27
1937	Mar 19
1938	Mar 30
1939	Mar 11
1940	Mar 13
1941	Jan 2
1942	Mar 28
1943	Feb 12
1944	Mar 22
1945	Mar 5
1946	Mar 5
1947	Mar 6
1948	Mar 26
1949	Feb 18
1950	Mar 13
1951	Mar 31
1952	Mar 22
1953	Mar 14
1954	Mar 18
1956	Mar 10
1958	Mar 7
1959	Feb 13
1960	Feb 26
1961	Feb 27
1962	Mar 4
1963	Mar 18
1964	Mar 25
1965	Feb 24
1966	Mar 4
1967	Apr 1
1968	Apr 22
1969	Mar 8
1970	Apr 15
1971	Mar 6
1972	Feb 3
1973	Mar 18
1974	Mar 4
1975	Mar 29
1976	Apr 2
1977	Mar 31
1978	May 16
1980	Mar 24
1981	Feb 1
1984	Feb 26
1986	Feb 11
1988	Mar 16
1990	Mar 13
1991	Feb 1
1992	Feb 5
1993	Jan 30
1994	Feb 15
1995	Mar 23
1996	Feb 28
1997	Jan 14
1998	Mar 7
1999	Apr 26
2000	Feb 2
2001	Feb 15
2003	Mar 20
2004	Feb 10
2005	Apr 14
2006	Mar 13
2007	Mar 27
2008	Feb 6
2009	Mar 11
2011	Mar 1
2014	Feb 7
2017	Feb 27
2018	Mar 18
2019	Feb 19
2020	Mar 1
2021	Mar 23
2023	Apr 4
2024	Feb 8
2025	Feb 12

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1902	236
1905	241
1906	145
1909	229
1911	213
1912	266
1913	266
1914	232
1915	262
1916	282
1917	245
1918	225
1919	234
1920	247
1921	275
1922	234
1923	255
1924	229
1925	238
1926	316
1927	248
1928	275
1930	267
1931	294
1932	277
1933	249
1934	334
1936	224
1937	261
1938	221
1939	228
1940	250
1941	319
1942	221
1943	294
1944	239
1946	236
1947	244
1948	227
1949	242
1950	263
1951	231
1952	226
1953	249
1954	256
1958	252
1959	264
1960	274
1961	261
1962	258
1963	267
1964	234
1965	293
1966	264
1967	243
1968	205
1969	254
1970	243
1971	236
1972	268
1973	230
1974	263
1975	233
1976	211
1977	232
1978	166
1980	233
1981	299
1984	272
1986	270
1988	258
1990	252
1991	287
1992	279
1993	288
1994	268
1995	276
1996	233
1997	329
1998	271
1999	210
2000	281
2001	298
2003	228
2004	284
2005	225
2006	258
2007	248
2008	304
2009	262
2010	327
2017	279
2019	309
2020	252
2021	260
2023	235
2025	321

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1902	21.6 °C
1903	21.9 °C
1906	22.0 °C
1909	20.4 °C
1911	20.8 °C
1912	22.3 °C
1913	22.0 °C
1914	21.6 °C
1915	21.2 °C
1916	20.8 °C
1917	21.8 °C
1918	21.4 °C
1919	21.8 °C
1920	21.4 °C
1921	21.4 °C
1922	21.9 °C
1923	21.1 °C
1924	22.5 °C
1925	21.8 °C
1926	23.2 °C
1927	22.2 °C
1928	22.7 °C
1930	21.3 °C
1931	23.2 °C
1932	21.9 °C
1933	21.5 °C
1934	22.4 °C
1935	22.1 °C
1936	22.5 °C
1937	21.9 °C
1938	21.9 °C
1939	22.2 °C
1940	22.3 °C
1941	20.9 °C
1942	21.2 °C
1943	20.8 °C
1945	21.4 °C
1946	21.3 °C
1947	21.8 °C
1948	20.3 °C
1949	21.5 °C
1950	22.1 °C
1951	21.6 °C
1952	21.9 °C
1953	21.2 °C
1954	22.1 °C
1955	21.6 °C
1956	21.5 °C
1958	22.2 °C
1959	21.9 °C
1960	22.4 °C
1961	22.5 °C
1962	21.6 °C
1963	21.2 °C
1964	21.7 °C
1965	20.8 °C
1966	22.8 °C
1967	22.2 °C
1968	22.1 °C
1969	22.3 °C
1970	22.6 °C
1971	21.9 °C
1972	22.8 °C
1973	22.5 °C
1974	22.1 °C
1975	21.5 °C
1976	21.4 °C
1977	21.7 °C
1978	20.4 °C
1980	21.1 °C
1981	22.6 °C
1984	23.2 °C
1986	21.5 °C
1988	22.6 °C
1990	22.8 °C
1991	21.9 °C
1992	23.0 °C
1994	22.4 °C
1995	21.8 °C
1996	23.0 °C
2003	22.5 °C
2004	22.9 °C
2005	22.5 °C
2006	23.1 °C
2007	22.5 °C
2008	22.9 °C
2009	23.0 °C
2010	21.3 °C
2011	21.1 °C
2017	22.7 °C
2018	22.0 °C
2019	22.0 °C
2020	22.8 °C
2021	23.1 °C
2023	21.7 °C
2024	22.9 °C
2025	22.4 °C

What this means for you: Since 1900, Le Grand's last spring frost has come about 1 day earlier per decade, on average. The frost-free season has grown by about 3 days per decade. Year-to-year swings are large, so keep using the safe date rather than the trend.

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

Nearby towns

Planada Chowchilla Fairmead Merced Madera Acres Madera