When to plant in Carson, WA

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

Safe to plant out

May 9

1 year in 10 has a later frost

Average last frost

Apr 21

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Oct 12

1 year in 10 by Sep 23

Frost-free days

171

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Hood Rvr Exp Stn · 23.9 km away · station 152 m, town 143 m. How we match towns to stations

This season

Plan your garden.

Build my Carson plan

Planting dates for common crops

Crop	Start indoors	Plant out or sow	Harvest from
Tomato	Mar 14 – Mar 28	May 9 – May 23	Jul 3
Sweet pepper	Feb 28 – Mar 14	May 9 – May 23	Jul 8
Lettuce (leaf)	Feb 17 – Feb 24	Mar 24 – Apr 7	May 3
Peas	—	Mar 10 – Apr 7	May 4
Bush beans	—	May 2 – May 23	Jun 21
Carrot	—	Mar 31 – May 12	May 30
Beet	—	Mar 28 – May 9	May 17
Potato	—	Mar 31 – Apr 21	Jun 9
Kale	Feb 10 – Feb 24	Mar 24 – Apr 7	May 6
Broccoli	Feb 10 – Feb 24	Mar 24 – Apr 14	May 23
Cucumber	Apr 11 – Apr 18	May 9 – May 23	Jun 28
Summer squash and zucchini	Apr 11 – Apr 18	May 9 – May 23	Jun 23
Winter squash	Apr 11 – Apr 18	May 9 – May 23	Jul 28
Sweet corn	—	May 2 – May 23	Jul 1
Onion (from sets)	—	Mar 24 – Apr 14	Jun 22
Garlic	—	Sep 28 – Oct 26 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Mar 10 – Apr 7	Apr 17
Basil	Mar 28 – Apr 11	May 9 – May 23	Jul 5

Plan all 65 crops for Carson

Carson'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
1893	Apr 17
1894	May 17
1895	Apr 23
1896	Apr 19
1897	Mar 30
1898	Apr 19
1899	May 3
1900	Apr 10
1901	Apr 24
1902	Apr 13
1903	Apr 15
1904	Apr 23
1905	Apr 10
1906	Apr 12
1907	Apr 30
1908	May 4
1909	May 9
1910	Apr 16
1911	May 14
1912	Apr 26
1913	Apr 28
1914	Apr 29
1915	May 1
1916	May 13
1917	May 2
1918	May 25
1919	May 6
1920	May 22
1921	May 3
1922	May 27
1923	May 3
1924	May 1
1925	May 3
1926	May 25
1927	Apr 21
1928	May 3
1929	May 7
1930	May 4
1931	Apr 21
1932	May 25
1933	Apr 17
1934	Apr 3
1935	Apr 24
1936	Apr 4
1937	May 6
1938	Apr 20
1939	Apr 30
1940	Apr 21
1941	Apr 17
1942	May 11
1943	May 14
1944	May 10
1945	Apr 13
1946	May 1
1947	Apr 7
1948	May 2
1949	May 5
1950	May 3
1951	Apr 24
1952	May 9
1953	May 11
1954	May 2
1955	Apr 28
1956	Apr 24
1957	Apr 8
1958	May 13
1959	Apr 19
1960	May 22
1961	Apr 20
1962	May 5
1963	Apr 21
1964	May 25
1965	May 6
1966	Jun 1
1967	Apr 26
1968	Apr 27
1969	May 4
1970	May 11
1971	Apr 22
1972	May 1
1973	May 11
1974	May 17
1975	May 25
1976	Jun 3
1977	May 12
1978	May 5
1979	Apr 20
1980	Apr 11
1981	Apr 25
1982	May 5
1983	Apr 15
1984	May 4
1985	May 12
1986	May 6
1987	Apr 20
1988	Apr 10
1989	Mar 30
1990	Mar 27
1991	Apr 11
1992	Apr 25
1993	Apr 14
1994	Mar 26
1995	Apr 16
1996	May 9
1997	May 2
1998	Apr 8
1999	May 10
2000	Apr 24
2001	May 19
2002	May 8
2003	Apr 25
2004	Apr 2
2005	Apr 20
2006	May 3
2007	Apr 20
2008	May 9
2009	May 13
2010	Apr 15
2012	Apr 14
2015	Apr 4
2016	Mar 30
2017	Apr 17
2018	Apr 4
2019	Apr 28
2020	Apr 13
2021	Apr 12
2022	Apr 15
2023	Apr 20
2024	Apr 18
2025	Mar 31

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1893	178
1894	170
1895	150
1896	200
1897	234
1898	201
1899	160
1900	174
1901	197
1902	205
1903	182
1904	195
1905	190
1906	190
1907	186
1908	141
1909	157
1910	191
1912	161
1914	175
1915	157
1916	137
1917	167
1918	149
1919	144
1920	147
1921	130
1923	172
1924	148
1925	152
1926	117
1927	168
1928	161
1929	155
1930	159
1931	169
1932	118
1933	165
1934	195
1935	180
1936	164
1937	165
1938	178
1939	177
1940	196
1941	194
1942	154
1943	169
1944	184
1945	167
1946	161
1947	215
1948	149
1949	155
1950	150
1951	155
1952	157
1953	163
1954	150
1955	188
1956	180
1957	189
1958	160
1959	192
1960	139
1961	156
1962	152
1963	180
1964	130
1965	133
1966	129
1967	176
1968	157
1969	159
1970	124
1971	176
1972	146
1973	144
1974	141
1975	165
1976	130
1977	144
1978	160
1979	194
1980	180
1981	169
1982	152
1983	157
1984	142
1985	139
1986	158
1987	172
1988	199
1989	198
1990	193
1991	199
1992	172
1993	159
1994	199
1995	185
1996	136
1997	170
1998	190
1999	139
2000	151
2001	151
2002	148
2003	180
2004	171
2005	189
2006	159
2007	168
2008	136
2009	146
2010	184
2015	213
2016	195
2018	192
2019	155
2020	191
2021	182
2022	201
2023	190
2024	188

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1893	12.8 °C
1894	14.1 °C
1895	13.8 °C
1896	15.5 °C
1897	16.6 °C
1898	16.0 °C
1899	14.5 °C
1900	16.1 °C
1901	15.2 °C
1902	15.3 °C
1903	15.4 °C
1904	17.3 °C
1905	17.1 °C
1906	17.6 °C
1907	16.5 °C
1908	15.3 °C
1909	15.2 °C
1910	16.3 °C
1911	15.1 °C
1912	15.7 °C
1913	16.5 °C
1914	16.0 °C
1915	16.0 °C
1916	14.7 °C
1917	15.1 °C
1918	15.3 °C
1919	15.3 °C
1920	14.9 °C
1921	15.5 °C
1923	15.9 °C
1924	16.0 °C
1925	16.1 °C
1926	16.4 °C
1927	15.5 °C
1928	15.6 °C
1929	15.6 °C
1930	15.9 °C
1931	16.2 °C
1932	15.3 °C
1933	14.9 °C
1934	16.8 °C
1935	15.4 °C
1936	16.2 °C
1937	15.5 °C
1938	16.5 °C
1939	15.8 °C
1940	16.8 °C
1941	16.1 °C
1942	16.0 °C
1943	15.4 °C
1944	15.7 °C
1945	15.5 °C
1946	15.4 °C
1947	16.2 °C
1948	15.2 °C
1949	16.0 °C
1950	15.8 °C
1951	16.1 °C
1952	16.2 °C
1953	14.9 °C
1954	14.9 °C
1955	14.3 °C
1956	15.8 °C
1957	15.8 °C
1958	17.4 °C
1959	15.6 °C
1960	15.5 °C
1961	15.9 °C
1962	15.0 °C
1963	15.2 °C
1964	14.1 °C
1965	15.4 °C
1966	15.6 °C
1967	16.8 °C
1968	15.4 °C
1969	16.1 °C
1970	15.6 °C
1971	15.3 °C
1972	15.5 °C
1973	15.7 °C
1974	15.5 °C
1975	14.9 °C
1976	14.8 °C
1977	16.0 °C
1978	15.2 °C
1979	16.1 °C
1980	15.3 °C
1981	15.6 °C
1982	15.3 °C
1983	15.3 °C
1984	15.0 °C
1985	15.7 °C
1986	15.9 °C
1987	16.7 °C
1988	15.7 °C
1989	16.0 °C
1990	16.9 °C
1991	16.1 °C
1992	17.2 °C
1993	15.7 °C
1994	16.9 °C
1995	16.1 °C
1996	15.6 °C
1997	16.2 °C
1998	16.9 °C
1999	15.3 °C
2000	16.5 °C
2001	16.2 °C
2002	16.5 °C
2003	17.1 °C
2004	17.0 °C
2005	16.4 °C
2006	16.9 °C
2007	16.2 °C
2008	15.4 °C
2009	16.4 °C
2010	14.8 °C
2015	17.5 °C
2016	16.9 °C
2018	17.3 °C
2019	16.6 °C
2020	16.9 °C
2021	17.9 °C
2022	16.6 °C
2023	17.3 °C
2024	16.8 °C

What this means for you: Since 1893, Carson's last spring frost has stayed at about the same time of year. Year-to-year swings are large, so keep using the safe date rather than the trend.

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

Nearby towns

Stevenson Cascade Locks, OR Hood River, OR Odell, OR White Salmon Mount Hood Village, OR