When to plant in Toro Canyon, CA

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

Frost is rare in Toro Canyon: in 26 of the last 28 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 1

1 year in 10 has a later frost

Average last frost

Jan 3

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Dec 27

1 year in 10 by Dec 31

Frost-free days

363

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Santa Barbara · 10.8 km away · station 5 m, town 15 m. How we match towns to stations

Toro Canyon'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
1899	Feb 6
1903	Feb 3
1910	Feb 3
1911	Feb 16
1913	Jan 8
1917	Mar 15
1918	Feb 23
1920	Jan 10
1921	Feb 16
1922	Feb 3
1923	Feb 10
1924	Jan 3
1925	Jan 17
1928	Jan 20
1929	Feb 15
1932	Feb 3
1933	Feb 10
1935	Mar 22
1937	Feb 9
1939	Feb 9
1942	Feb 15
1943	Jan 19
1944	Jan 9
1945	Jan 23
1946	Feb 12
1947	Jan 19
1948	Mar 2
1949	Feb 16
1950	Jan 30
1951	Mar 3
1952	Jan 10
1953	Mar 3
1956	Feb 17
1957	Jan 28
1960	Jan 2
1962	Feb 28
1963	Jan 13
1970	Apr 28
1972	Jan 8
1987	Mar 5
1989	Feb 6
1993	Feb 18
2007	Jan 18

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1893	363
1894	363
1895	363
1898	363
1899	327
1901	363
1902	363
1903	330
1904	363
1905	363
1906	363
1907	363
1908	348
1909	363
1910	330
1911	317
1912	363
1913	356
1914	363
1915	363
1916	349
1917	290
1918	303
1919	330
1920	354
1921	317
1922	330
1923	303
1924	348
1925	347
1926	360
1927	363
1928	344
1929	318
1930	354
1931	325
1932	328
1933	309
1934	363
1935	269
1936	363
1937	324
1938	314
1939	324
1940	363
1941	363
1942	318
1943	345
1944	355
1945	324
1946	321
1947	305
1948	269
1949	298
1950	334
1951	280
1952	354
1953	302
1954	363
1955	363
1956	294
1957	336
1958	319
1959	363
1960	362
1961	363
1962	305
1963	351
1964	363
1965	363
1966	363
1967	345
1968	353
1969	363
1970	246
1971	350
1972	356
1973	363
1975	363
1976	363
1977	363
1984	360
1985	363
1986	363
1987	298
1988	361
1989	327
1991	363
1993	225
1994	363
1995	363
1996	363
1997	363
1998	363
1999	363
2000	363
2001	363
2002	363
2003	363
2004	363
2005	363
2007	346
2009	363
2011	363
2012	363
2014	363
2016	363
2017	363
2018	363
2019	363
2020	363
2021	363
2022	363
2023	363
2024	363
2025	363

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1893	16.8 °C
1894	16.7 °C
1895	17.2 °C
1898	17.6 °C
1899	16.6 °C
1901	16.3 °C
1902	17.0 °C
1903	17.0 °C
1904	17.9 °C
1905	17.0 °C
1906	17.6 °C
1907	17.2 °C
1908	16.9 °C
1909	16.2 °C
1910	17.1 °C
1911	16.5 °C
1912	16.1 °C
1913	16.8 °C
1914	16.2 °C
1915	17.9 °C
1916	17.0 °C
1917	17.7 °C
1918	17.6 °C
1919	17.3 °C
1920	17.3 °C
1921	17.1 °C
1922	17.8 °C
1923	16.8 °C
1924	17.1 °C
1925	18.1 °C
1926	18.5 °C
1927	17.4 °C
1928	17.7 °C
1929	18.1 °C
1930	18.1 °C
1931	20.1 °C
1932	17.2 °C
1933	16.6 °C
1934	18.3 °C
1935	17.3 °C
1936	18.3 °C
1937	17.9 °C
1938	17.5 °C
1939	18.2 °C
1940	17.6 °C
1941	17.9 °C
1942	17.5 °C
1943	17.7 °C
1944	16.8 °C
1945	17.8 °C
1946	18.1 °C
1947	18.3 °C
1948	16.6 °C
1949	17.8 °C
1950	16.9 °C
1951	17.0 °C
1952	17.2 °C
1953	17.2 °C
1954	17.7 °C
1955	17.4 °C
1956	17.5 °C
1957	18.8 °C
1958	19.2 °C
1959	19.2 °C
1960	18.6 °C
1961	18.0 °C
1962	17.5 °C
1963	18.3 °C
1964	17.1 °C
1965	16.9 °C
1966	17.9 °C
1967	17.5 °C
1968	17.6 °C
1969	17.5 °C
1970	17.1 °C
1971	17.6 °C
1972	17.9 °C
1975	17.1 °C
1976	18.1 °C
1977	17.8 °C
1980	17.2 °C
1984	20.0 °C
1985	18.3 °C
1986	17.7 °C
1987	18.1 °C
1988	17.6 °C
1989	17.8 °C
1990	18.4 °C
1991	16.4 °C
1993	17.4 °C
1994	17.9 °C
1995	17.6 °C
1996	18.7 °C
1997	20.0 °C
1998	18.3 °C
1999	17.0 °C
2000	18.5 °C
2001	17.9 °C
2002	17.2 °C
2003	18.0 °C
2004	18.8 °C
2005	18.1 °C
2009	20.0 °C
2012	18.4 °C
2013	18.7 °C
2014	20.1 °C
2015	19.8 °C
2016	19.7 °C
2017	19.9 °C
2018	19.5 °C
2019	18.9 °C
2020	19.6 °C
2021	18.9 °C
2022	20.1 °C
2023	18.6 °C
2024	18.4 °C
2025	19.2 °C
2026	20.4 °C

What this means for you: Since 1899, Toro Canyon's last spring frost has come about 1 day later per decade, on average. The frost-free season has grown by about 1 days per decade. Year-to-year swings are large, so keep using the safe date rather than the trend.

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

Nearby towns

Summerland Carpinteria Montecito Santa Barbara Mission Canyon Goleta