When to plant in Paradise, CA
Planting dates worked out from Paradise's own frost records, not a generic zone chart.
Safe to plant out
Apr 7
1 year in 10 has a later frost
Average last frost
Feb 13
about a 50% chance of a later one
Average first fall frost
Dec 13
1 year in 10 by Nov 22
Frost-free days
291
median, 1991–2020
Station used: Paradise · 0.7 km away · station 533 m, town 542 m. How we match towns to stations
This season
Plan your garden.
Planting dates for common crops
| Crop | Start indoors | Plant out or sow | Harvest from |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tomato | Feb 10 – Feb 24 | Apr 7 – Apr 21 | Jun 1 |
| Sweet pepper | Jan 27 – Feb 10 | Apr 7 – Apr 21 | Jun 6 |
| Lettuce (leaf) | Dec 12 – Dec 19 | Jan 16 – Jan 30 | Feb 25 |
| Peas | — | Jan 2 – Jan 30 | Feb 26 |
| Bush beans | — | Mar 31 – Apr 21 | May 20 |
| Carrot | — | Jan 23 – Mar 6 | Mar 24 |
| Beet | — | Jan 16 – Feb 27 | Mar 7 |
| Potato | — | Jan 23 – Feb 13 | Apr 3 |
| Kale | Dec 5 – Dec 19 | Jan 16 – Jan 30 | Feb 28 |
| Broccoli | Dec 5 – Dec 19 | Jan 16 – Feb 6 | Mar 17 |
| Cucumber | Mar 10 – Mar 17 | Apr 7 – Apr 21 | May 27 |
| Summer squash and zucchini | Mar 10 – Mar 17 | Apr 7 – Apr 21 | May 22 |
| Winter squash | Mar 10 – Mar 17 | Apr 7 – Apr 21 | Jun 26 |
| Sweet corn | — | Mar 31 – Apr 21 | May 30 |
| Onion (from sets) | — | Jan 16 – Feb 6 | Apr 16 |
| Garlic | — | Nov 15 – Dec 13 (fall) | following summer |
| Spinach | — | Jan 2 – Jan 30 | Feb 9 |
| Basil | Feb 24 – Mar 10 | Apr 7 – Apr 21 | Jun 3 |
Paradise'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 |
|---|---|
| 1958 | Mar 10 |
| 1959 | May 2 |
| 1960 | Apr 22 |
| 1961 | Apr 24 |
| 1962 | Apr 20 |
| 1963 | Apr 21 |
| 1964 | May 4 |
| 1965 | Feb 4 |
| 1966 | Mar 3 |
| 1967 | Apr 30 |
| 1968 | Jan 31 |
| 1969 | Mar 13 |
| 1970 | Apr 28 |
| 1971 | Apr 21 |
| 1972 | Apr 13 |
| 1973 | Mar 22 |
| 1974 | Mar 3 |
| 1975 | Apr 5 |
| 1976 | Mar 25 |
| 1977 | Mar 14 |
| 1978 | Feb 13 |
| 1979 | Feb 5 |
| 1981 | Jan 31 |
| 1982 | Apr 6 |
| 1983 | Jan 21 |
| 1984 | Feb 17 |
| 1985 | Mar 28 |
| 1986 | Mar 15 |
| 1987 | Mar 24 |
| 1988 | Jan 19 |
| 1989 | Mar 3 |
| 1990 | Mar 13 |
| 1991 | Mar 27 |
| 1992 | Jan 25 |
| 1993 | Feb 24 |
| 1994 | Feb 21 |
| 1995 | Apr 9 |
| 1996 | Apr 20 |
| 1997 | Feb 20 |
| 1998 | Mar 6 |
| 1999 | Apr 9 |
| 2001 | Apr 3 |
| 2002 | Mar 18 |
| 2004 | Feb 7 |
| 2008 | Jan 29 |
| 2011 | Feb 26 |
| 2012 | Jan 17 |
| 2013 | Feb 20 |
| 2015 | Jan 2 |
| 2016 | Feb 1 |
| 2017 | Feb 23 |
Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend
See the data as a table
| Year | Frost-free days |
|---|---|
| 1958 | 249 |
| 1959 | 219 |
| 1960 | 219 |
| 1961 | 186 |
| 1962 | 211 |
| 1963 | 213 |
| 1964 | 192 |
| 1965 | 307 |
| 1966 | 263 |
| 1967 | 214 |
| 1968 | 304 |
| 1969 | 289 |
| 1970 | 229 |
| 1971 | 190 |
| 1972 | 231 |
| 1973 | 241 |
| 1974 | 293 |
| 1975 | 226 |
| 1976 | 246 |
| 1977 | 249 |
| 1978 | 273 |
| 1979 | 319 |
| 1981 | 333 |
| 1982 | 223 |
| 1983 | 303 |
| 1984 | 301 |
| 1985 | 229 |
| 1986 | 290 |
| 1987 | 263 |
| 1988 | 309 |
| 1989 | 291 |
| 1990 | 257 |
| 1991 | 266 |
| 1992 | 320 |
| 1993 | 271 |
| 1994 | 269 |
| 1995 | 265 |
| 1996 | 254 |
| 1997 | 291 |
| 1998 | 272 |
| 1999 | 244 |
| 2000 | 313 |
| 2001 | 255 |
| 2002 | 276 |
| 2003 | 324 |
| 2004 | 326 |
| 2005 | 349 |
| 2008 | 322 |
| 2009 | 339 |
| 2010 | 326 |
| 2011 | 307 |
| 2013 | 286 |
| 2015 | 358 |
Each year's average temperature, April to SeptemberLong-term trend
See the data as a table
| Year | Growing-season temperature |
|---|---|
| 1958 | 21.4 °C |
| 1959 | 20.4 °C |
| 1960 | 20.1 °C |
| 1961 | 19.7 °C |
| 1962 | 19.4 °C |
| 1963 | 19.2 °C |
| 1964 | 19.8 °C |
| 1965 | 19.6 °C |
| 1966 | 20.8 °C |
| 1967 | 20.3 °C |
| 1968 | 20.8 °C |
| 1970 | 20.9 °C |
| 1971 | 20.1 °C |
| 1972 | 20.3 °C |
| 1973 | 21.2 °C |
| 1974 | 20.6 °C |
| 1975 | 19.9 °C |
| 1976 | 20.0 °C |
| 1977 | 21.0 °C |
| 1978 | 20.2 °C |
| 1979 | 20.8 °C |
| 1981 | 22.1 °C |
| 1982 | 20.2 °C |
| 1983 | 20.1 °C |
| 1984 | 21.9 °C |
| 1985 | 21.5 °C |
| 1986 | 20.6 °C |
| 1987 | 22.2 °C |
| 1988 | 21.4 °C |
| 1989 | 20.8 °C |
| 1990 | 21.5 °C |
| 1991 | 20.7 °C |
| 1992 | 22.4 °C |
| 1993 | 20.8 °C |
| 1994 | 21.9 °C |
| 1995 | 20.8 °C |
| 1996 | 22.4 °C |
| 1997 | 22.5 °C |
| 1998 | 20.4 °C |
| 1999 | 20.6 °C |
| 2000 | 21.7 °C |
| 2001 | 22.0 °C |
| 2002 | 21.6 °C |
| 2003 | 21.2 °C |
| 2004 | 21.8 °C |
| 2005 | 21.1 °C |
| 2008 | 22.2 °C |
| 2009 | 21.7 °C |
| 2010 | 20.2 °C |
| 2011 | 20.3 °C |
| 2012 | 21.9 °C |
| 2013 | 22.0 °C |
| 2014 | 22.8 °C |
| 2015 | 22.2 °C |
| 2016 | 22.2 °C |
What this means for you: Since 1958, Paradise's last spring frost has come about 10 days earlier per decade, on average. The frost-free season has grown by about 17 days per decade. Year-to-year swings are large, so keep using the safe date rather than the trend.
Source: daily records from Paradise (NOAA GHCN-Daily). Years with too many missing days are left out.