When to plant in Porterville, CA

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

Safe to plant out

Apr 9

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 23

1 year in 10 by Nov 4

Frost-free days

274

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Lindsay · 15.7 km away · station 133 m, town 140 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 12 – Feb 26	Apr 9 – Apr 23	Jun 3
Sweet pepper	Jan 29 – Feb 12	Apr 9 – Apr 23	Jun 8
Lettuce (leaf)	Dec 24 – Dec 31	Jan 28 – Feb 11	Mar 9
Peas	—	Jan 14 – Feb 11	Mar 10
Bush beans	—	Apr 2 – Apr 23	May 22
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	Mar 12 – Mar 19	Apr 9 – Apr 23	May 29
Summer squash and zucchini	Mar 12 – Mar 19	Apr 9 – Apr 23	May 24
Winter squash	Mar 12 – Mar 19	Apr 9 – Apr 23	Jun 28
Sweet corn	—	Apr 2 – Apr 23	Jun 1
Onion (from sets)	—	Jan 28 – Feb 18	Apr 28
Garlic	—	Nov 9 – Dec 7 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Jan 14 – Feb 11	Feb 21
Basil	Feb 26 – Mar 12	Apr 9 – Apr 23	Jun 5

Plan all 65 crops for Porterville

Porterville'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
1915	Feb 21
1916	Mar 24
1917	Apr 15
1918	Apr 14
1919	Mar 11
1920	Apr 22
1921	Apr 15
1922	Apr 17
1923	Mar 16
1924	Feb 4
1925	Mar 13
1926	Feb 18
1927	Apr 17
1928	Feb 27
1929	Apr 9
1930	Mar 2
1931	Mar 29
1932	Feb 21
1933	Apr 18
1934	Feb 12
1935	Mar 22
1936	Apr 1
1937	Feb 28
1938	Apr 1
1939	Mar 6
1940	Mar 14
1941	Jan 17
1942	Apr 29
1943	Feb 28
1944	Mar 28
1945	Apr 2
1946	Mar 14
1947	Mar 24
1948	Mar 26
1949	Feb 19
1950	Mar 24
1951	Apr 1
1952	Mar 21
1954	Mar 18
1955	Apr 27
1956	Mar 27
1957	Mar 22
1958	Mar 9
1959	Feb 13
1960	Mar 2
1961	Jan 22
1962	Mar 12
1963	Jan 27
1964	Mar 13
1965	Feb 17
1966	Mar 17
1967	Mar 30
1968	Feb 4
1969	Mar 7
1970	Feb 19
1971	Mar 6
1972	Mar 29
1973	Mar 18
1974	Feb 25
1975	Apr 1
1976	Apr 16
1977	Mar 31
1978	Jan 27
1979	Mar 2
1980	Feb 12
1981	Feb 27
1982	Apr 7
1983	Jan 22
1984	Apr 27
1985	Mar 26
1986	Feb 11
1987	Mar 20
1988	Mar 12
1989	Feb 16
1990	Mar 13
1991	Mar 7
1992	Feb 4
1993	Jan 14
1994	Mar 23
1995	Feb 16
1996	Mar 29
1997	Mar 4
1998	Jan 6
1999	Apr 10
2000	Jan 11
2001	Feb 16
2002	Apr 16
2003	Feb 10
2004	Feb 13
2006	Mar 12
2007	Mar 2
2008	Apr 21
2009	Mar 23
2010	Jan 26
2011	Mar 1
2012	Apr 8
2013	Feb 25
2014	Feb 4
2016	Feb 4
2018	Mar 5
2019	Feb 22
2023	Apr 4
2024	Jan 13
2025	Jan 30
2026	Jan 12

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1915	262
1916	228
1917	214
1918	205
1919	228
1920	192
1921	215
1922	200
1923	256
1924	274
1925	236
1926	294
1927	218
1928	265
1929	204
1930	257
1931	228
1932	283
1933	203
1934	285
1935	216
1936	232
1937	271
1938	219
1939	258
1940	250
1941	304
1942	205
1943	258
1944	233
1945	219
1946	228
1947	226
1948	227
1949	241
1950	252
1951	248
1952	242
1954	253
1955	198
1956	218
1957	250
1958	251
1959	272
1960	267
1961	280
1962	253
1963	317
1964	245
1965	283
1966	254
1967	246
1968	296
1969	255
1970	286
1971	236
1972	250
1973	230
1975	223
1976	225
1977	233
1978	291
1979	262
1980	274
1981	226
1982	221
1983	303
1984	211
1985	230
1986	269
1987	250
1988	252
1989	283
1990	238
1992	298
1993	305
1994	224
1995	287
1996	216
1997	273
1998	334
1999	227
2000	304
2002	226
2004	283
2006	261
2007	268
2010	302
2011	276
2012	217
2013	281
2014	325
2018	250
2019	251
2021	351
2023	234
2024	351
2025	334

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1915	22.1 °C
1916	22.0 °C
1917	22.6 °C
1918	22.3 °C
1919	22.4 °C
1920	21.4 °C
1921	22.0 °C
1922	22.7 °C
1923	21.9 °C
1924	22.9 °C
1925	22.5 °C
1926	23.4 °C
1927	21.6 °C
1928	22.9 °C
1929	22.3 °C
1930	22.0 °C
1931	24.1 °C
1932	22.8 °C
1933	22.2 °C
1934	23.3 °C
1935	23.0 °C
1936	23.8 °C
1937	23.0 °C
1938	23.4 °C
1939	23.5 °C
1940	22.7 °C
1941	21.8 °C
1942	22.3 °C
1943	22.2 °C
1944	21.7 °C
1945	22.8 °C
1946	22.4 °C
1947	22.0 °C
1948	20.8 °C
1949	22.3 °C
1951	22.5 °C
1952	22.6 °C
1953	21.3 °C
1954	22.1 °C
1955	21.5 °C
1956	21.9 °C
1957	22.4 °C
1958	23.1 °C
1959	22.7 °C
1960	22.9 °C
1961	22.7 °C
1962	22.4 °C
1963	21.9 °C
1964	21.7 °C
1965	21.3 °C
1966	22.9 °C
1967	22.1 °C
1968	22.4 °C
1969	23.1 °C
1970	22.3 °C
1971	21.9 °C
1972	22.5 °C
1973	22.8 °C
1974	22.5 °C
1975	22.3 °C
1976	22.0 °C
1977	22.6 °C
1978	21.8 °C
1979	22.4 °C
1980	21.9 °C
1981	22.1 °C
1982	21.6 °C
1994	22.2 °C
1995	22.1 °C
1997	23.6 °C
1998	22.1 °C
1999	22.2 °C
2000	23.3 °C
2001	23.9 °C
2002	22.8 °C
2003	23.9 °C
2004	23.8 °C
2006	23.5 °C
2007	23.5 °C
2008	23.4 °C
2009	23.3 °C
2010	21.6 °C
2011	21.7 °C
2012	22.9 °C
2013	23.3 °C
2014	23.8 °C
2016	23.7 °C
2018	23.2 °C
2019	23.0 °C
2020	23.3 °C
2021	24.4 °C
2023	22.8 °C
2024	24.1 °C
2025	23.5 °C

What this means for you: Since 1915, Porterville's last spring frost has come about 3 days earlier per decade, on average. The frost-free season has grown by about 5 days per decade. Year-to-year swings are large, so keep using the safe date rather than the trend.

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

Nearby towns

East Porterville Strathmore Terra Bella Poplar-Cotton Center Lindsay Woodville