When to plant in Lucerne Valley, CA

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

Safe to plant out

Apr 10

1 year in 10 has a later frost

Average last frost

Mar 20

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Nov 5

1 year in 10 by Oct 25

Frost-free days

225

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Victorville · 31.4 km away · station 850 m, town 900 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	Feb 13 – Feb 27	Apr 10 – Apr 24	Jun 4
Sweet pepper	Jan 30 – Feb 13	Apr 10 – Apr 24	Jun 9
Lettuce (leaf)	Jan 16 – Jan 23	Feb 20 – Mar 6	Apr 1
Peas	—	Feb 6 – Mar 6	Apr 2
Bush beans	—	Apr 3 – Apr 24	May 23
Carrot	—	Feb 27 – Apr 10	Apr 28
Beet	—	Feb 20 – Apr 3	Apr 11
Potato	—	Feb 27 – Mar 20	May 8
Kale	Jan 9 – Jan 23	Feb 20 – Mar 6	Apr 4
Broccoli	Jan 9 – Jan 23	Feb 20 – Mar 13	Apr 21
Cucumber	Mar 13 – Mar 20	Apr 10 – Apr 24	May 30
Summer squash and zucchini	Mar 13 – Mar 20	Apr 10 – Apr 24	May 25
Winter squash	Mar 13 – Mar 20	Apr 10 – Apr 24	Jun 29
Sweet corn	—	Apr 3 – Apr 24	Jun 2
Onion (from sets)	—	Feb 20 – Mar 13	May 21
Garlic	—	Oct 22 – Nov 19 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Feb 6 – Mar 6	Mar 16
Basil	Feb 27 – Mar 13	Apr 10 – Apr 24	Jun 6

Plan all 65 crops for Lucerne Valley

Lucerne Valley'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
1917	Apr 11
1918	May 30
1939	Apr 7
1940	Mar 21
1941	Apr 20
1942	May 2
1943	Apr 1
1944	Apr 25
1945	Apr 14
1946	Apr 11
1947	Apr 10
1948	Apr 13
1949	Apr 3
1950	May 8
1951	Apr 1
1952	Apr 16
1953	May 26
1954	Apr 1
1955	Apr 27
1956	Apr 28
1957	Apr 24
1958	Apr 5
1959	Mar 28
1960	Mar 15
1961	Apr 25
1962	Mar 24
1963	Apr 22
1964	Apr 7
1965	Apr 11
1966	Apr 20
1967	Apr 20
1968	Apr 23
1969	Apr 7
1970	Apr 29
1971	Apr 22
1972	Apr 19
1973	Apr 5
1974	Apr 17
1975	Apr 7
1976	Apr 17
1977	Apr 3
1978	Apr 5
1979	Mar 23
1980	Mar 25
1981	Mar 14
1982	May 9
1983	Apr 14
1984	Apr 5
1985	Mar 30
1986	Mar 18
1987	Apr 4
1988	May 30
1989	Mar 29
1990	Mar 15
1991	May 10
1992	Feb 4
1994	Mar 23
1995	Mar 31
1996	Mar 24
1997	Apr 1
1998	Apr 16
1999	Apr 10
2001	Apr 8
2002	Mar 25
2003	Mar 5
2004	Mar 1
2006	Mar 22
2008	Mar 17
2009	Feb 18
2010	Apr 6
2011	Apr 9
2012	Apr 7
2013	Mar 10
2014	Feb 6
2015	Mar 6
2016	Feb 25
2017	Mar 7
2018	Mar 19
2019	Mar 16
2020	Mar 28
2021	Mar 27

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1917	190
1918	140
1939	172
1940	219
1941	168
1943	204
1944	201
1945	191
1946	177
1947	194
1948	165
1949	187
1950	146
1951	215
1952	207
1953	149
1954	206
1955	189
1956	179
1957	193
1958	221
1959	222
1960	244
1961	180
1962	237
1963	208
1964	220
1965	228
1966	177
1967	220
1968	196
1969	194
1970	181
1971	177
1972	194
1973	212
1974	201
1975	199
1976	223
1977	217
1978	220
1979	222
1980	217
1981	229
1982	177
1983	208
1984	194
1985	226
1986	233
1987	224
1988	168
1989	210
1990	233
1991	170
1992	279
1994	224
1995	205
1996	211
1997	207
1998	197
1999	221
2001	231
2002	222
2003	244
2004	246
2006	232
2009	252
2010	216
2011	207
2012	217
2013	199
2014	283
2015	243
2016	265
2017	256
2018	235
2019	228
2020	225

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1917	21.5 °C
1918	20.6 °C
1939	21.7 °C
1940	21.8 °C
1941	19.6 °C
1942	20.6 °C
1943	20.9 °C
1944	19.5 °C
1945	21.4 °C
1946	21.7 °C
1947	21.7 °C
1948	20.7 °C
1949	21.5 °C
1950	21.4 °C
1951	21.7 °C
1952	21.2 °C
1953	20.5 °C
1954	21.7 °C
1955	20.7 °C
1956	20.9 °C
1957	21.1 °C
1958	21.6 °C
1959	22.5 °C
1960	23.0 °C
1961	22.1 °C
1962	21.7 °C
1963	20.8 °C
1964	20.9 °C
1965	20.3 °C
1966	22.6 °C
1967	22.1 °C
1968	21.3 °C
1969	22.1 °C
1970	21.8 °C
1971	21.1 °C
1972	21.8 °C
1973	21.8 °C
1974	21.8 °C
1975	20.7 °C
1976	20.7 °C
1977	21.2 °C
1978	20.8 °C
1979	21.8 °C
1980	20.9 °C
1981	23.2 °C
1982	21.1 °C
1983	20.6 °C
1984	22.9 °C
1985	22.0 °C
1986	21.5 °C
1987	21.4 °C
1988	21.7 °C
1989	22.5 °C
1990	22.2 °C
1991	21.0 °C
1992	22.2 °C
1994	23.2 °C
1995	22.2 °C
1996	23.7 °C
1997	23.2 °C
1998	21.1 °C
1999	21.8 °C
2001	23.7 °C
2002	23.5 °C
2003	23.4 °C
2004	23.2 °C
2006	23.5 °C
2007	23.8 °C
2008	23.3 °C
2009	23.6 °C
2010	20.7 °C
2011	21.5 °C
2012	24.0 °C
2013	23.9 °C
2014	23.7 °C
2015	22.6 °C
2016	22.7 °C
2017	23.0 °C
2018	23.9 °C
2019	22.1 °C
2020	23.6 °C
2021	23.7 °C

What this means for you: Since 1917, Lucerne Valley's last spring frost has come about 5 days earlier per decade, on average. The frost-free season has grown by about 7 days per decade. Year-to-year swings are large, so keep using the safe date rather than the trend.

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

Nearby towns

Apple Valley Big Bear Lake Big Bear City Spring Valley Lake Running Springs Lake Arrowhead