When to plant in Dayton, WA

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

Safe to plant out

May 16

1 year in 10 has a later frost

Average last frost

Apr 23

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Oct 12

1 year in 10 by Oct 1

Frost-free days

173

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Dayton 1 Wsw · 2.5 km away · station 475 m, town 506 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	Mar 21 – Apr 4	May 16 – May 30	Jul 10
Sweet pepper	Mar 7 – Mar 21	May 16 – May 30	Jul 15
Lettuce (leaf)	Feb 19 – Feb 26	Mar 26 – Apr 9	May 5
Peas	—	Mar 14 – Apr 11	May 8
Bush beans	—	May 9 – May 30	Jun 28
Carrot	—	Apr 3 – May 15	Jun 2
Beet	—	Apr 3 – May 15	May 23
Potato	—	Apr 3 – Apr 24	Jun 12
Kale	Feb 12 – Feb 26	Mar 26 – Apr 9	May 8
Broccoli	Feb 12 – Feb 26	Mar 26 – Apr 16	May 25
Cucumber	Apr 18 – Apr 25	May 16 – May 30	Jul 5
Summer squash and zucchini	Apr 18 – Apr 25	May 16 – May 30	Jun 30
Winter squash	Apr 18 – Apr 25	May 16 – May 30	Aug 4
Sweet corn	—	May 9 – May 30	Jul 8
Onion (from sets)	—	Mar 26 – Apr 16	Jun 24
Garlic	—	Sep 28 – Oct 26 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Mar 14 – Apr 11	Apr 21
Basil	Apr 4 – Apr 18	May 16 – May 30	Jul 12

Plan all 65 crops for Dayton

Dayton'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
1897	May 2
1898	May 7
1900	Apr 21
1901	Jul 1
1903	May 21
1905	May 2
1906	Apr 12
1908	Jun 2
1909	May 8
1911	Apr 29
1912	Apr 18
1913	Apr 29
1914	Apr 28
1915	Apr 20
1916	May 23
1917	Apr 29
1918	May 25
1919	May 13
1920	May 31
1921	May 28
1922	May 9
1923	Apr 22
1924	Apr 26
1925	Apr 28
1926	May 6
1927	May 20
1928	May 3
1930	May 8
1931	May 19
1932	Apr 21
1933	May 11
1934	Mar 24
1935	Apr 28
1936	Apr 4
1937	May 5
1938	May 6
1939	Apr 30
1940	May 26
1941	Apr 18
1942	May 16
1943	Apr 24
1944	May 20
1945	Apr 28
1946	May 10
1947	Apr 5
1948	May 2
1949	May 4
1950	Apr 30
1951	Jun 1
1952	Jun 13
1953	May 11
1954	Jun 18
1955	May 14
1956	Apr 30
1957	Apr 18
1958	Mar 27
1959	Apr 19
1960	May 22
1961	Apr 7
1962	May 4
1963	Apr 22
1964	May 23
1965	May 7
1966	Apr 19
1967	May 1
1968	May 2
1969	May 3
1970	Apr 27
1971	Apr 19
1972	Apr 30
1974	May 16
1975	Apr 29
1976	Apr 23
1977	Apr 20
1978	May 23
1979	Apr 20
1980	Apr 11
1981	May 5
1982	May 5
1983	Apr 25
1984	Jun 1
1985	May 12
1986	Apr 30
1987	Apr 20
1988	Apr 25
1989	Apr 9
1990	May 8
1991	Apr 13
1992	Apr 23
1993	Apr 5
1994	Mar 26
1995	May 26
1996	Apr 3
1997	May 2
1998	Apr 13
1999	May 10
2000	Apr 8
2001	Apr 14
2002	May 8
2003	Apr 25
2004	Apr 2
2005	Apr 15
2009	Apr 25
2010	May 22
2011	May 4
2012	May 6
2013	May 23
2015	Apr 26
2016	Mar 30
2017	Apr 11
2018	Apr 24
2019	Apr 30
2020	Apr 17
2021	Apr 21
2022	May 11
2023	Apr 20
2024	Apr 22

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1897	164
1903	146
1905	160
1908	114
1909	152
1911	171
1912	170
1913	158
1914	177
1916	131
1917	170
1918	159
1919	138
1920	138
1921	106
1922	171
1923	183
1924	161
1925	166
1926	140
1927	163
1928	161
1930	160
1931	125
1932	168
1933	136
1934	179
1935	174
1936	199
1937	166
1938	163
1939	160
1940	160
1941	187
1942	153
1943	172
1944	160
1945	172
1946	152
1947	202
1948	145
1949	156
1950	151
1951	117
1952	91
1953	135
1954	102
1955	130
1956	174
1957	153
1958	180
1959	164
1960	121
1961	182
1962	126
1963	179
1964	133
1965	132
1966	172
1967	171
1968	153
1969	162
1970	138
1971	163
1972	147
1975	177
1976	176
1977	172
1978	142
1979	194
1980	181
1981	141
1982	157
1983	146
1984	114
1985	138
1986	174
1987	172
1988	184
1989	176
1990	151
1991	173
1992	174
1993	203
1994	211
1995	148
1996	196
1997	158
1998	185
1999	144
2000	167
2001	186
2002	156
2003	188
2004	205
2009	163
2010	146
2011	173
2012	149
2013	143
2016	195
2017	185
2018	161
2019	152
2020	187
2021	170
2022	163
2023	190
2024	178

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1903	15.8 °C
1905	16.6 °C
1909	15.7 °C
1911	15.6 °C
1912	15.7 °C
1913	16.7 °C
1914	16.7 °C
1916	16.7 °C
1917	17.4 °C
1918	17.5 °C
1919	17.4 °C
1920	16.5 °C
1921	16.8 °C
1922	18.0 °C
1923	16.4 °C
1924	16.7 °C
1925	17.5 °C
1926	17.3 °C
1927	15.8 °C
1928	16.9 °C
1930	17.1 °C
1931	16.9 °C
1932	16.4 °C
1933	15.9 °C
1934	17.9 °C
1935	16.8 °C
1936	18.0 °C
1937	17.0 °C
1938	17.6 °C
1939	17.3 °C
1940	17.9 °C
1941	16.7 °C
1942	17.1 °C
1943	16.6 °C
1944	17.2 °C
1945	16.5 °C
1946	16.7 °C
1947	17.2 °C
1948	15.7 °C
1949	17.0 °C
1950	16.4 °C
1951	16.1 °C
1952	16.9 °C
1953	15.6 °C
1954	15.0 °C
1955	15.1 °C
1956	16.7 °C
1957	16.4 °C
1958	18.4 °C
1959	16.0 °C
1960	16.5 °C
1961	17.5 °C
1962	15.7 °C
1963	16.6 °C
1964	15.4 °C
1965	16.5 °C
1966	16.8 °C
1967	17.7 °C
1968	16.6 °C
1969	17.3 °C
1970	16.7 °C
1971	15.9 °C
1972	16.7 °C
1974	17.0 °C
1975	16.1 °C
1976	16.4 °C
1977	17.1 °C
1978	16.2 °C
1979	17.6 °C
1980	16.5 °C
1981	16.5 °C
1982	16.6 °C
1983	16.4 °C
1984	15.9 °C
1985	16.7 °C
1986	16.8 °C
1987	17.9 °C
1988	16.9 °C
1989	17.2 °C
1990	17.8 °C
1991	16.6 °C
1992	17.8 °C
1993	16.4 °C
1994	17.9 °C
1995	16.6 °C
1996	16.7 °C
1997	17.4 °C
1998	18.1 °C
1999	16.5 °C
2000	16.9 °C
2001	17.4 °C
2002	17.2 °C
2003	17.9 °C
2004	17.7 °C
2009	17.0 °C
2010	16.1 °C
2011	15.4 °C
2012	16.6 °C
2013	17.3 °C
2016	17.2 °C
2017	17.5 °C
2018	17.2 °C
2019	16.9 °C
2020	17.0 °C
2021	18.1 °C
2022	16.5 °C
2023	17.5 °C
2024	17.3 °C

What this means for you: Since 1897, Dayton'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 Dayton 1 Wsw (NOAA GHCN-Daily). Years with too many missing days are left out.

Nearby towns

Waitsburg Pomeroy Walla Walla East Walla Walla College Place Garrett