When to plant in Clayton, NM

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

Safe to plant out

May 4

1 year in 10 has a later frost

Average last frost

Apr 22

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Oct 14

1 year in 10 by Oct 6

Frost-free days

174

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Clayton Muni Air Pk · 2.8 km away · station 1515 m, town 1541 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	Mar 9 – Mar 23	May 4 – May 18	Jun 28
Sweet pepper	Feb 23 – Mar 9	May 4 – May 18	Jul 3
Lettuce (leaf)	Feb 18 – Feb 25	Mar 25 – Apr 8	May 4
Peas	—	Mar 11 – Apr 8	May 5
Bush beans	—	Apr 27 – May 18	Jun 16
Carrot	—	Apr 1 – May 13	May 31
Beet	—	Mar 25 – May 6	May 14
Potato	—	Apr 1 – Apr 22	Jun 10
Kale	Feb 11 – Feb 25	Mar 25 – Apr 8	May 7
Broccoli	Feb 11 – Feb 25	Mar 25 – Apr 15	May 24
Cucumber	Apr 6 – Apr 13	May 4 – May 18	Jun 23
Summer squash and zucchini	Apr 6 – Apr 13	May 4 – May 18	Jun 18
Winter squash	Apr 6 – Apr 13	May 4 – May 18	Jul 23
Sweet corn	—	Apr 27 – May 18	Jun 26
Onion (from sets)	—	Mar 25 – Apr 15	Jun 23
Garlic	—	Sep 30 – Oct 28 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Mar 11 – Apr 8	Apr 18
Basil	Mar 23 – Apr 6	May 4 – May 18	Jun 30

Plan all 65 crops for Clayton

Clayton'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
1896	Apr 19
1897	Apr 29
1898	May 9
1899	May 4
1909	May 2
1910	Apr 16
1913	Apr 26
1914	Apr 19
1915	May 20
1916	May 16
1917	May 27
1918	May 12
1919	Jun 2
1920	May 15
1921	Apr 28
1922	Apr 28
1923	May 16
1924	May 25
1925	Apr 29
1926	Apr 15
1927	May 11
1928	Apr 26
1929	May 2
1931	May 21
1932	Apr 27
1933	May 4
1934	Apr 26
1935	May 4
1936	Apr 9
1937	Apr 25
1938	May 8
1939	Apr 18
1940	Apr 18
1941	Apr 20
1942	Apr 9
1943	May 16
1944	May 4
1945	May 16
1946	May 11
1947	May 29
1948	May 6
1949	Apr 15
1950	Apr 30
1951	May 1
1952	Apr 23
1953	May 14
1954	May 3
1955	Apr 20
1956	Apr 29
1957	Apr 23
1958	Apr 30
1959	Apr 22
1960	Apr 30
1961	May 6
1962	Apr 9
1963	Apr 28
1964	Apr 14
1965	May 10
1966	May 13
1967	May 15
1968	May 7
1969	May 8
1970	May 2
1971	May 19
1972	Apr 28
1973	May 3
1974	Apr 16
1975	May 7
1976	Apr 25
1977	Apr 21
1978	May 4
1979	May 11
1980	Apr 25
1981	Apr 5
1982	Apr 23
1983	May 2
1984	May 8
1986	Apr 18
1987	Apr 21
1988	May 4
1989	Apr 12
1990	May 4
1991	May 1
1992	Apr 1
1997	May 3
1998	Apr 29
1999	May 5
2000	Apr 16
2001	Apr 14
2002	Apr 22
2003	Apr 9
2004	Apr 13
2005	May 2
2006	Apr 26
2007	Apr 26
2008	May 11
2009	Apr 10
2010	Apr 8
2011	May 1
2012	Mar 21
2013	May 4
2014	Apr 28
2015	Apr 10
2016	May 2
2017	May 4
2018	Apr 18
2019	Apr 19
2020	Apr 18
2021	Apr 24
2022	May 3
2023	Apr 27
2024	Apr 21

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1897	169
1898	159
1909	159
1910	185
1914	176
1915	139
1916	146
1917	133
1918	130
1919	129
1920	152
1921	180
1922	177
1923	155
1924	130
1925	162
1926	162
1927	137
1928	171
1929	171
1931	160
1932	159
1933	169
1934	151
1935	145
1936	169
1937	176
1938	164
1939	174
1940	179
1941	192
1942	196
1944	188
1945	133
1946	151
1947	148
1948	152
1949	188
1950	185
1951	157
1952	165
1953	164
1954	163
1955	185
1956	178
1957	183
1958	174
1959	186
1960	167
1961	147
1962	197
1963	186
1964	187
1965	177
1966	154
1967	153
1968	162
1969	155
1970	146
1971	120
1972	172
1973	160
1974	181
1975	159
1976	164
1977	173
1978	171
1979	162
1980	174
1981	199
1982	170
1983	141
1984	142
1986	175
1987	171
1988	176
1989	186
1990	156
1991	170
1992	188
1997	162
1998	170
1999	146
2000	172
2001	180
2002	177
2003	198
2004	183
2005	173
2006	175
2007	175
2008	163
2009	182
2010	202
2011	171
2012	200
2013	154
2014	182
2015	203
2016	157
2017	157
2018	178
2019	173
2020	143
2021	173
2022	173
2023	170
2024	191

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1897	19.2 °C
1898	18.9 °C
1909	18.9 °C
1910	19.8 °C
1913	18.8 °C
1914	18.7 °C
1915	17.1 °C
1916	18.2 °C
1917	17.9 °C
1918	17.9 °C
1919	18.0 °C
1920	17.6 °C
1921	19.1 °C
1922	19.8 °C
1923	18.6 °C
1924	18.4 °C
1925	19.1 °C
1926	18.2 °C
1927	18.2 °C
1928	17.4 °C
1929	17.6 °C
1931	19.5 °C
1932	19.4 °C
1933	20.1 °C
1934	20.4 °C
1935	18.5 °C
1936	19.9 °C
1937	19.8 °C
1938	19.1 °C
1939	19.3 °C
1940	19.0 °C
1941	17.7 °C
1942	17.9 °C
1944	18.0 °C
1945	17.9 °C
1946	19.4 °C
1947	18.4 °C
1948	19.5 °C
1949	18.2 °C
1950	17.8 °C
1951	18.1 °C
1952	19.3 °C
1953	19.0 °C
1954	19.8 °C
1955	18.5 °C
1956	19.5 °C
1957	17.7 °C
1958	18.6 °C
1959	18.5 °C
1960	18.9 °C
1961	17.8 °C
1962	19.2 °C
1963	20.0 °C
1964	19.2 °C
1965	18.2 °C
1966	18.3 °C
1967	17.9 °C
1968	17.8 °C
1969	18.9 °C
1970	18.3 °C
1971	17.6 °C
1972	18.3 °C
1973	17.4 °C
1974	18.5 °C
1975	17.7 °C
1976	18.4 °C
1977	19.8 °C
1978	18.9 °C
1979	17.9 °C
1980	19.1 °C
1981	19.4 °C
1982	18.1 °C
1983	18.2 °C
1984	18.2 °C
1985	19.1 °C
1986	18.7 °C
1987	18.6 °C
1988	18.6 °C
1989	18.4 °C
1990	19.0 °C
1991	18.6 °C
1992	18.5 °C
1997	18.2 °C
1998	19.8 °C
1999	18.2 °C
2000	20.4 °C
2001	20.0 °C
2002	20.5 °C
2003	19.4 °C
2004	18.4 °C
2005	19.2 °C
2006	20.0 °C
2007	19.5 °C
2008	19.6 °C
2009	19.8 °C
2010	21.2 °C
2011	21.1 °C
2012	21.4 °C
2013	19.9 °C
2014	19.9 °C
2015	19.9 °C
2016	19.7 °C
2017	18.7 °C
2018	19.8 °C
2019	19.7 °C
2020	20.0 °C
2021	19.6 °C
2022	20.4 °C
2023	19.8 °C
2024	20.6 °C

What this means for you: Since 1896, Clayton's last spring frost has come about 1 day earlier per decade, on average. The frost-free season has grown by about 2 days per decade. Year-to-year swings are large, so keep using the safe date rather than the trend.

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

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