When to plant in Pittsburg, CA

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

Frost is rare in Pittsburg: in 7 of the last 18 springs there was none at all. Frost dates matter less here than heat, so the planting table below is left out.

Safe to plant out

Jan 27

1 year in 10 has a later frost

Average last frost

Jan 10

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Dec 13

1 year in 10 by Nov 25

Frost-free days

339

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Antioch Pumping Plt #3 · 12.6 km away · station 18 m, town 8 m. How we match towns to stations

Pittsburg'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
1955	Mar 17
1956	Mar 13
1957	Feb 6
1958	Jan 23
1959	Feb 13
1960	Feb 27
1961	Apr 19
1962	Apr 19
1963	Mar 18
1964	Apr 24
1965	Feb 26
1966	Mar 4
1967	Apr 1
1968	Feb 1
1969	Mar 15
1970	Feb 23
1971	Mar 7
1972	Feb 3
1974	Mar 10
1975	Apr 16
1976	Mar 6
1977	Mar 31
1978	Jan 26
1979	Feb 5
1980	Feb 9
1981	Feb 1
1982	Apr 2
1983	Jan 3
1984	Feb 4
1985	Feb 11
1986	Feb 10
1987	Jan 21
1988	Jan 23
1989	Feb 22
1990	Feb 20
1992	Jan 25
1993	Jan 26
1994	Jan 31
1997	Jan 15
1999	Jan 29
2007	Jan 23
2008	Jan 2
2013	Jan 15
2015	Jan 3
2019	Jan 2
2020	Jan 7

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1955	287
1956	252
1957	272
1958	297
1959	267
1960	283
1961	208
1962	224
1963	263
1964	205
1965	274
1966	265
1967	239
1968	298
1969	252
1970	291
1971	236
1972	269
1973	363
1974	257
1975	216
1976	266
1977	232
1978	289
1979	288
1980	284
1981	296
1982	236
1983	314
1984	294
1985	274
1986	294
1987	332
1988	337
1989	293
1990	286
1992	324
1993	302
1994	301
1995	363
1996	363
1997	329
1998	339
2006	349
2007	323
2008	340
2013	324
2014	363
2015	328
2019	362
2020	347

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1955	19.8 °C
1956	19.8 °C
1957	20.3 °C
1958	20.3 °C
1959	20.3 °C
1960	20.6 °C
1961	20.6 °C
1962	19.9 °C
1963	19.3 °C
1964	19.2 °C
1965	19.2 °C
1966	20.5 °C
1967	19.5 °C
1968	20.3 °C
1969	20.1 °C
1970	19.9 °C
1971	19.1 °C
1972	18.9 °C
1973	20.5 °C
1974	20.2 °C
1975	19.2 °C
1976	20.5 °C
1977	20.4 °C
1978	20.2 °C
1979	20.8 °C
1980	19.4 °C
1981	21.4 °C
1982	19.5 °C
1983	20.1 °C
1984	22.4 °C
1986	20.3 °C
1987	21.3 °C
1988	21.5 °C
1989	21.3 °C
1990	21.9 °C
1992	22.1 °C
1994	21.2 °C
1995	20.4 °C
1996	21.7 °C
1997	22.2 °C
1999	20.4 °C
2005	20.4 °C
2006	21.4 °C
2007	21.1 °C
2008	21.8 °C
2010	20.1 °C
2013	22.0 °C
2014	22.1 °C
2015	21.8 °C
2016	21.7 °C
2019	21.8 °C
2020	22.8 °C

What this means for you: Since 1955, Pittsburg's last spring frost has come about 12 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 Antioch Pumping Plt #3 (NOAA GHCN-Daily). Years with too many missing days are left out.

Nearby towns

Bay Point Antioch Clayton Concord Oakley Pacheco