When to plant in Ponderay, ID

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

Safe to plant out

May 29

1 year in 10 has a later frost

Average last frost

May 13

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Sep 24

1 year in 10 by Sep 9

Frost-free days

136

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Sandpoint Exp Stn · 2.5 km away · station 648 m, town 648 m. How we match towns to stations

This season

Plan your garden.

Build my Ponderay plan

Planting dates for common crops

Crop	Start indoors	Plant out or sow	Harvest from
Tomato	Apr 3 – Apr 17	May 29 – Jun 12	Jul 23
Sweet pepper	Mar 20 – Apr 3	May 29 – Jun 12	Jul 28
Lettuce (leaf)	Mar 11 – Mar 18	Apr 15 – Apr 29	May 25
Peas	—	Apr 7 – May 5	Jun 1
Bush beans	—	May 22 – Jun 12	Jul 11
Carrot	—	Apr 22 – Jun 3	Jun 21
Beet	—	Apr 20 – Jun 1	Jun 9
Potato	—	Apr 22 – May 13	Jul 1
Kale	Mar 4 – Mar 18	Apr 15 – Apr 29	May 28
Broccoli	Mar 4 – Mar 18	Apr 15 – May 6	Jun 14
Cucumber	May 1 – May 8	May 29 – Jun 12	Jul 18
Summer squash and zucchini	May 1 – May 8	May 29 – Jun 12	Jul 13
Winter squash	May 1 – May 8	May 29 – Jun 12	Aug 17
Sweet corn	—	May 22 – Jun 12	Jul 21
Onion (from sets)	—	Apr 15 – May 6	Jul 14
Garlic	—	Sep 10 – Oct 8 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Apr 7 – May 5	May 15
Basil	Apr 17 – May 1	May 29 – Jun 12	Jul 25

Plan all 65 crops for Ponderay

Ponderay'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
1911	Jun 6
1912	Jun 4
1913	May 12
1914	May 29
1915	Apr 30
1916	Jun 20
1917	Jun 12
1918	Jun 15
1919	Jun 12
1920	Jun 2
1921	May 12
1922	May 23
1923	May 15
1924	Jun 7
1925	Jun 3
1926	Jun 9
1927	May 9
1928	May 31
1929	May 27
1930	May 26
1931	May 27
1932	May 26
1933	Jun 2
1934	May 21
1936	May 7
1937	Jun 4
1938	May 14
1939	Jun 1
1940	May 17
1941	May 19
1942	May 18
1943	May 17
1944	May 4
1945	Apr 29
1946	May 11
1947	Apr 25
1948	May 5
1949	May 6
1950	Jun 2
1951	Jun 1
1952	Jun 13
1953	May 23
1954	May 14
1955	May 13
1956	May 13
1957	Apr 23
1958	May 13
1959	May 12
1960	May 22
1961	May 24
1962	May 7
1963	May 11
1964	May 25
1965	May 19
1966	Jun 13
1967	May 26
1968	May 11
1969	May 4
1970	May 14
1971	May 15
1972	May 3
1973	May 27
1974	May 16
1975	May 24
1976	Jun 5
1977	May 30
1978	May 23
1980	Jun 4
1981	May 5
1982	Jun 8
1983	May 14
1984	May 27
1985	May 13
1986	May 23
1987	May 24
1988	May 6
1989	May 21
1990	May 16
1991	Apr 28
1992	May 17
1993	Apr 22
1994	Jun 9
1995	May 4
1996	May 10
1997	May 8
1998	May 19
1999	May 30
2000	May 13
2001	May 30
2002	May 15
2003	May 20
2004	May 14
2006	May 15
2007	May 6
2008	May 13
2012	May 12
2013	May 24
2014	May 13
2017	May 8
2018	Apr 24
2019	Apr 30
2021	May 19
2022	May 18
2023	Apr 21

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1911	78
1912	86
1914	94
1915	135
1916	81
1917	109
1918	114
1919	100
1920	98
1921	120
1922	135
1923	124
1924	83
1925	86
1926	101
1927	121
1928	88
1929	84
1930	97
1931	111
1932	96
1933	92
1936	124
1937	85
1938	152
1939	97
1940	157
1941	131
1942	120
1943	108
1944	136
1945	141
1946	133
1947	141
1948	141
1949	128
1950	104
1951	101
1952	91
1953	119
1954	138
1955	127
1956	112
1957	148
1958	136
1959	112
1960	121
1961	111
1962	123
1963	150
1964	109
1965	110
1966	111
1967	119
1968	143
1969	133
1970	118
1971	121
1972	129
1973	82
1974	119
1975	117
1976	94
1977	119
1978	116
1980	109
1981	141
1982	98
1984	108
1985	129
1986	111
1987	116
1988	128
1989	112
1990	144
1991	146
1992	98
1993	148
1994	117
1995	139
1996	135
1997	152
1998	139
1999	93
2000	132
2001	100
2002	128
2003	142
2006	145
2007	136
2012	123
2013	132
2017	130
2018	163
2019	151
2022	128
2023	181

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1911	12.6 °C
1912	12.8 °C
1914	14.3 °C
1915	14.8 °C
1916	12.5 °C
1917	13.3 °C
1918	14.0 °C
1919	14.0 °C
1920	13.0 °C
1921	13.7 °C
1922	14.4 °C
1923	14.2 °C
1924	13.8 °C
1925	14.9 °C
1926	14.0 °C
1927	13.7 °C
1928	14.0 °C
1929	13.4 °C
1930	14.7 °C
1931	14.3 °C
1932	13.7 °C
1933	13.3 °C
1936	14.8 °C
1937	14.1 °C
1938	14.7 °C
1939	14.6 °C
1940	15.8 °C
1941	14.8 °C
1942	14.1 °C
1943	13.4 °C
1944	14.4 °C
1945	13.8 °C
1946	14.1 °C
1947	14.2 °C
1948	13.9 °C
1949	14.6 °C
1950	13.7 °C
1951	14.0 °C
1952	14.3 °C
1953	13.4 °C
1954	12.7 °C
1955	12.6 °C
1956	14.2 °C
1957	14.2 °C
1958	15.5 °C
1959	13.2 °C
1960	13.7 °C
1961	14.5 °C
1962	13.8 °C
1963	14.7 °C
1964	12.8 °C
1965	13.6 °C
1966	14.2 °C
1967	14.8 °C
1968	13.4 °C
1969	14.3 °C
1970	13.7 °C
1971	13.5 °C
1972	13.3 °C
1973	14.1 °C
1974	14.1 °C
1975	13.3 °C
1976	13.5 °C
1977	14.1 °C
1978	13.8 °C
1980	14.3 °C
1981	13.6 °C
1984	13.3 °C
1985	14.2 °C
1986	14.4 °C
1987	15.2 °C
1988	14.2 °C
1989	14.2 °C
1990	14.8 °C
1991	14.1 °C
1992	14.4 °C
1993	13.7 °C
1994	15.1 °C
1995	14.1 °C
1996	13.5 °C
1997	14.3 °C
1998	15.8 °C
1999	13.2 °C
2000	13.9 °C
2001	14.2 °C
2002	14.3 °C
2003	15.3 °C
2004	14.9 °C
2006	15.4 °C
2007	15.3 °C
2012	14.3 °C
2013	14.8 °C
2014	14.7 °C
2017	15.1 °C
2018	14.9 °C
2019	14.9 °C
2021	15.8 °C
2022	15.0 °C
2023	16.1 °C

What this means for you: Since 1911, Ponderay's last spring frost has come about 2 days earlier per decade, on average. The frost-free season has grown by about 3 days per decade. Year-to-year swings are large, so keep using the safe date rather than the trend.

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

Nearby towns

Sandpoint Priest River Newport (near Deer Park), WA Spirit Lake Bonners Ferry Rathdrum