When to plant in Des Moines, WA

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

Safe to plant out

Apr 9

1 year in 10 has a later frost

Average last frost

Mar 24

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Nov 8

1 year in 10 by Oct 30

Frost-free days

229

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Kent · 6.3 km away · station 9 m, town 28 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	Feb 28 – Mar 14	Apr 25 – May 9	Jun 19
Sweet pepper	Feb 14 – Feb 28	Apr 25 – May 9	Jun 24
Lettuce (leaf)	Jan 20 – Jan 27	Feb 24 – Mar 10	Apr 5
Peas	—	Feb 10 – Mar 10	Apr 6
Bush beans	—	Apr 16 – May 7	Jun 5
Carrot	—	Mar 13 – Apr 24	May 12
Beet	—	Mar 13 – Apr 24	May 2
Potato	—	Mar 13 – Apr 3	May 22
Kale	Jan 13 – Jan 27	Feb 24 – Mar 10	Apr 8
Broccoli	Jan 13 – Jan 27	Feb 24 – Mar 17	Apr 25
Cucumber	Mar 28 – Apr 4	Apr 25 – May 9	Jun 14
Summer squash and zucchini	Mar 28 – Apr 4	Apr 25 – May 9	Jun 9
Winter squash	Mar 28 – Apr 4	Apr 25 – May 9	Jul 14
Sweet corn	—	Apr 16 – May 7	Jun 15
Onion (from sets)	—	Feb 24 – Mar 17	May 25
Garlic	—	Oct 15 – Nov 12 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Feb 10 – Mar 10	Mar 20
Basil	Mar 14 – Mar 28	Apr 25 – May 9	Jun 21

Plan all 65 crops for Des Moines

Des Moines'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
1913	May 1
1914	Apr 29
1915	Apr 22
1916	May 23
1918	Apr 27
1919	May 7
1920	May 24
1921	May 12
1922	May 11
1925	Apr 27
1926	May 6
1927	May 5
1928	Apr 8
1929	Apr 15
1930	May 8
1931	Apr 23
1932	Apr 7
1933	Apr 16
1934	Apr 3
1935	May 7
1936	Apr 4
1937	May 1
1938	May 31
1939	May 9
1940	May 27
1941	Apr 18
1942	May 12
1943	May 17
1944	May 10
1949	May 5
1951	Apr 24
1952	May 5
1953	Apr 10
1954	May 1
1955	Apr 28
1956	Apr 17
1957	Apr 8
1958	Apr 9
1959	May 5
1960	May 22
1961	May 6
1962	May 7
1963	May 4
1964	May 25
1965	May 7
1966	Apr 19
1967	Apr 24
1968	Apr 22
1969	Apr 26
1970	Apr 28
1971	Apr 19
1972	Apr 22
1973	Apr 30
1974	Apr 13
1975	Apr 30
1976	Apr 17
1977	May 12
1981	Apr 13
1982	May 5
1984	Apr 26
1985	May 12
1986	May 13
1987	Apr 20
1989	Mar 31
1991	Apr 12
1994	Mar 23
1995	Mar 26
1996	Mar 28
1997	Apr 4
1998	Mar 7
1999	Apr 2
2000	Mar 20
2001	Apr 4
2002	Mar 23
2003	Feb 27
2004	Mar 2
2005	Feb 27
2006	Mar 21
2007	Apr 3
2008	Apr 3
2010	Mar 20
2011	Apr 9
2012	Apr 8
2013	May 1
2015	Mar 5
2016	Mar 17
2018	Mar 15

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1913	156
1914	175
1915	158
1916	130
1919	116
1920	146
1921	124
1922	148
1925	158
1926	139
1927	154
1928	185
1929	164
1930	154
1931	167
1932	184
1933	161
1934	174
1935	167
1936	210
1937	212
1938	137
1939	146
1940	152
1941	193
1942	128
1944	168
1951	184
1952	161
1953	194
1954	175
1955	190
1956	189
1957	194
1958	196
1959	157
1960	139
1961	138
1962	155
1963	167
1964	154
1965	199
1966	179
1967	191
1968	168
1969	169
1970	137
1971	179
1972	155
1973	156
1975	176
1976	182
1982	165
1984	155
1986	180
1987	181
1991	200
1994	224
1995	218
1996	216
1998	245
1999	213
2000	235
2002	220
2003	245
2004	246
2005	260
2006	222
2007	205
2008	234
2010	246
2011	206
2016	263
2018	237

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1912	14.5 °C
1913	14.6 °C
1914	14.9 °C
1915	15.2 °C
1916	13.9 °C
1919	13.8 °C
1920	14.0 °C
1921	14.0 °C
1922	14.4 °C
1925	15.1 °C
1926	15.8 °C
1927	15.2 °C
1928	15.1 °C
1929	14.3 °C
1930	14.8 °C
1931	15.4 °C
1932	15.0 °C
1933	14.3 °C
1934	15.4 °C
1935	14.9 °C
1936	15.3 °C
1937	14.8 °C
1938	15.1 °C
1939	15.2 °C
1940	15.8 °C
1941	16.0 °C
1942	15.4 °C
1944	14.9 °C
1951	16.3 °C
1952	15.7 °C
1953	15.1 °C
1954	14.4 °C
1955	14.1 °C
1956	15.5 °C
1957	16.0 °C
1958	16.8 °C
1959	14.5 °C
1960	14.4 °C
1961	15.2 °C
1962	14.5 °C
1963	14.9 °C
1964	14.4 °C
1965	15.2 °C
1966	15.1 °C
1967	16.1 °C
1968	15.2 °C
1969	15.5 °C
1970	14.8 °C
1971	14.9 °C
1972	14.7 °C
1973	14.7 °C
1974	15.1 °C
1975	14.6 °C
1977	15.0 °C
1981	14.9 °C
1982	14.8 °C
1984	15.1 °C
1985	15.1 °C
1986	14.9 °C
1987	15.8 °C
1991	15.7 °C
1994	16.7 °C
1995	16.6 °C
1996	15.9 °C
1997	16.8 °C
1998	16.8 °C
2000	15.8 °C
2001	15.3 °C
2002	15.6 °C
2004	17.1 °C
2005	16.3 °C
2006	16.6 °C
2007	16.2 °C
2008	15.5 °C
2010	15.4 °C
2011	15.2 °C
2012	16.1 °C
2018	17.7 °C

What this means for you: Since 1913, Des Moines's last spring frost has come about 4 days earlier per decade, on average. The frost-free season has grown by about 8 days per decade. Year-to-year swings are large, so keep using the safe date rather than the trend.

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

Nearby towns

Normandy Park SeaTac Kent Burien Lakeland North Federal Way