When to plant in Westway, TX

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

Safe to plant out

Apr 4

1 year in 10 has a later frost

Average last frost

Mar 18

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Nov 12

1 year in 10 by Oct 28

Frost-free days

233

median, 1991–2020

Station used: La Tuna 1 S · 3.0 km away · station 1180 m, town 1207 m. How we match towns to stations

This season

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Planting dates for common crops

Crop	Start indoors	Plant out or sow	Harvest from
Tomato	Feb 7 – Feb 21	Apr 4 – Apr 18	May 29
Sweet pepper	Jan 24 – Feb 7	Apr 4 – Apr 18	Jun 3
Lettuce (leaf)	Jan 14 – Jan 21	Feb 18 – Mar 4	Mar 30
Peas	—	Feb 4 – Mar 4	Mar 31
Bush beans	—	Mar 28 – Apr 18	May 17
Carrot	—	Feb 25 – Apr 8	Apr 26
Beet	—	Feb 18 – Apr 1	Apr 9
Potato	—	Feb 25 – Mar 18	May 6
Kale	Jan 7 – Jan 21	Feb 18 – Mar 4	Apr 2
Broccoli	Jan 7 – Jan 21	Feb 18 – Mar 11	Apr 19
Cucumber	Mar 7 – Mar 14	Apr 4 – Apr 18	May 24
Summer squash and zucchini	Mar 7 – Mar 14	Apr 4 – Apr 18	May 19
Winter squash	Mar 7 – Mar 14	Apr 4 – Apr 18	Jun 23
Sweet corn	—	Mar 28 – Apr 18	May 27
Onion (from sets)	—	Feb 18 – Mar 11	May 19
Garlic	—	Oct 29 – Nov 26 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Feb 4 – Mar 4	Mar 14
Basil	Feb 21 – Mar 7	Apr 4 – Apr 18	May 31

Plan all 65 crops for Westway

Westway'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
1943	Mar 25
1944	Mar 31
1945	Apr 11
1946	Mar 26
1947	Mar 16
1948	Apr 2
1949	Apr 11
1950	Mar 17
1951	Apr 12
1952	Mar 28
1953	Mar 6
1954	Mar 25
1955	Mar 29
1956	Apr 3
1957	Apr 3
1958	Mar 13
1959	Apr 13
1962	Mar 22
1963	Mar 20
1965	Mar 21
1966	Mar 6
1967	Apr 13
1968	Apr 24
1969	Mar 25
1970	Mar 21
1971	Mar 8
1972	Mar 29
1974	Mar 11
1975	Apr 3
1976	Mar 14
1977	Apr 4
1978	Mar 8
1979	Mar 11
1980	Apr 15
1983	Apr 14
1984	Mar 7
1986	Mar 21
1987	Apr 1
1988	Apr 1
1989	Mar 22
1990	Mar 17
1991	Mar 31
1992	Mar 12
1993	Apr 14
1994	Mar 30
1996	Mar 27
1997	Mar 2
1998	Apr 3
1999	Apr 5
2000	Mar 19
2001	Mar 16
2002	Mar 6
2005	Mar 27
2007	Mar 5
2008	Mar 8
2009	Feb 22
2010	Mar 21
2011	Mar 1

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1943	226
1944	222
1945	195
1946	221
1947	235
1948	216
1949	214
1950	231
1951	204
1952	223
1953	234
1954	224
1955	224
1956	205
1957	218
1958	249
1959	206
1962	231
1965	251
1966	240
1967	200
1968	199
1969	238
1970	220
1971	256
1972	216
1974	258
1975	223
1976	242
1977	219
1978	264
1979	233
1986	226
1987	223
1988	228
1989	222
1990	231
1991	213
1992	239
1993	198
1994	219
1996	208
1997	237
1998	232
1999	231
2000	233
2007	262
2008	244
2009	266
2010	236

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1943	24.9 °C
1944	23.2 °C
1945	22.9 °C
1947	24.4 °C
1948	24.7 °C
1949	23.9 °C
1950	23.8 °C
1951	24.6 °C
1952	24.7 °C
1953	24.4 °C
1954	25.2 °C
1955	23.9 °C
1956	24.7 °C
1957	23.9 °C
1958	24.4 °C
1959	24.6 °C
1961	22.9 °C
1962	22.8 °C
1965	22.4 °C
1966	24.1 °C
1967	23.6 °C
1968	23.2 °C
1969	25.7 °C
1970	24.6 °C
1971	24.6 °C
1972	24.6 °C
1974	24.2 °C
1975	23.1 °C
1976	23.8 °C
1977	25.2 °C
1978	25.0 °C
1979	24.2 °C
1983	23.4 °C
1986	24.3 °C
1987	23.1 °C
1988	23.0 °C
1989	24.6 °C
1990	24.2 °C
1991	23.1 °C
1992	24.2 °C
1993	24.3 °C
1994	25.5 °C
1995	24.3 °C
1996	24.9 °C
1997	24.5 °C
1998	24.5 °C
1999	24.0 °C
2000	26.0 °C
2002	25.3 °C

What this means for you: Since 1943, Westway'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 La Tuna 1 S (NOAA GHCN-Daily). Years with too many missing days are left out.

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