When to plant in Forks, WA

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

Safe to plant out

May 11

1 year in 10 has a later frost

Average last frost

Apr 27

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Oct 27

1 year in 10 by Oct 11

Frost-free days

180

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Forks 1 E · 2.4 km away · station 113 m, town 93 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 21 – Apr 4	May 16 – May 30	Jul 10
Sweet pepper	Mar 7 – Mar 21	May 16 – May 30	Jul 15
Lettuce (leaf)	Feb 23 – Mar 2	Mar 30 – Apr 13	May 9
Peas	—	Mar 16 – Apr 13	May 10
Bush beans	—	May 6 – May 27	Jun 25
Carrot	—	Apr 6 – May 18	Jun 5
Beet	—	Apr 4 – May 16	May 24
Potato	—	Apr 6 – Apr 27	Jun 15
Kale	Feb 16 – Mar 2	Mar 30 – Apr 13	May 12
Broccoli	Feb 16 – Mar 2	Mar 30 – Apr 20	May 29
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 6 – May 27	Jul 5
Onion (from sets)	—	Mar 30 – Apr 20	Jun 28
Garlic	—	Oct 7 – Nov 4 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Mar 16 – Apr 13	Apr 23
Basil	Apr 4 – Apr 18	May 16 – May 30	Jul 12

Plan all 65 crops for Forks

Forks'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
1910	May 1
1914	Apr 16
1915	May 16
1916	May 11
1917	May 17
1918	May 25
1919	May 7
1920	May 14
1921	May 6
1922	May 9
1924	Jun 26
1925	May 4
1926	Apr 6
1928	Apr 14
1929	Apr 29
1931	Apr 19
1932	Apr 20
1933	Apr 19
1934	Mar 25
1935	May 3
1937	Apr 7
1938	Apr 20
1939	Apr 30
1940	Mar 11
1942	Mar 27
1943	May 11
1944	May 10
1945	Apr 13
1946	Apr 30
1947	Apr 6
1948	May 2
1949	May 4
1950	May 7
1951	May 2
1952	May 9
1953	May 31
1954	May 28
1955	May 23
1956	Apr 23
1957	Apr 20
1958	May 13
1959	May 11
1960	May 22
1961	May 24
1962	May 11
1963	May 16
1964	May 25
1965	May 7
1966	May 27
1967	May 10
1968	Apr 22
1969	May 4
1970	May 18
1971	May 21
1972	May 25
1973	Apr 20
1974	May 17
1975	May 20
1976	May 18
1977	May 12
1978	May 8
1979	Apr 16
1980	Apr 21
1981	May 5
1982	Apr 25
1983	Apr 15
1984	Apr 26
1985	May 12
1986	Apr 30
1987	Apr 25
1988	Apr 25
1989	Mar 23
1990	Apr 30
1991	May 31
1992	Apr 23
1993	Apr 19
1994	Mar 26
1995	Apr 16
1996	May 9
1997	Apr 11
1998	Apr 15
1999	May 10
2000	May 7
2001	May 6
2002	May 10
2003	May 6
2004	Apr 1
2005	Apr 20
2006	May 13
2007	May 14
2008	May 9
2010	May 7
2011	May 4
2012	May 11
2013	May 1
2014	Apr 26
2015	Apr 15
2016	Mar 29
2017	Apr 11
2018	Apr 23
2019	Apr 30
2020	Apr 14
2021	Apr 14
2022	Apr 28
2023	Apr 20
2024	May 2
2025	Apr 23
2026	Apr 16

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1915	142
1916	138
1917	151
1918	122
1919	143
1920	157
1921	127
1924	105
1925	145
1926	169
1928	189
1929	181
1931	172
1932	202
1933	199
1934	183
1937	220
1939	177
1940	242
1943	160
1944	185
1945	187
1946	168
1947	165
1948	167
1949	155
1950	144
1951	166
1952	175
1953	155
1954	126
1955	149
1956	182
1957	166
1958	162
1959	170
1960	159
1961	127
1962	188
1963	163
1964	153
1965	198
1966	138
1967	176
1968	186
1969	159
1970	117
1971	147
1972	122
1973	194
1974	157
1975	155
1976	152
1977	137
1978	169
1979	197
1980	177
1981	158
1982	175
1983	165
1984	171
1985	147
1986	193
1987	204
1988	184
1989	205
1990	189
1991	148
1992	174
1993	201
1994	220
1995	197
1996	163
1997	214
1998	205
1999	169
2000	185
2001	174
2002	154
2003	177
2004	216
2005	208
2006	169
2007	164
2008	153
2010	161
2011	164
2012	166
2013	180
2014	198
2015	208
2016	195
2017	205
2018	197
2019	161
2020	190
2021	199
2022	177
2023	187
2024	200
2025	173

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1910	13.7 °C
1914	13.3 °C
1915	14.0 °C
1916	13.0 °C
1917	12.6 °C
1919	12.2 °C
1920	12.3 °C
1921	12.2 °C
1924	13.1 °C
1925	13.2 °C
1926	13.2 °C
1928	13.1 °C
1929	12.6 °C
1931	13.6 °C
1932	12.7 °C
1933	11.9 °C
1934	13.5 °C
1935	12.8 °C
1937	12.8 °C
1938	13.3 °C
1939	12.8 °C
1940	14.1 °C
1942	14.1 °C
1944	13.0 °C
1946	12.7 °C
1947	13.3 °C
1948	12.5 °C
1949	12.6 °C
1950	12.6 °C
1951	13.3 °C
1952	12.8 °C
1953	12.6 °C
1954	11.8 °C
1955	11.3 °C
1956	13.4 °C
1957	13.4 °C
1958	14.5 °C
1959	12.6 °C
1960	12.5 °C
1961	13.6 °C
1962	12.4 °C
1963	13.3 °C
1964	12.2 °C
1965	12.8 °C
1966	12.7 °C
1967	13.7 °C
1968	12.8 °C
1969	13.3 °C
1970	12.3 °C
1971	12.5 °C
1972	13.0 °C
1973	13.4 °C
1974	13.5 °C
1975	13.2 °C
1976	13.2 °C
1977	13.6 °C
1978	14.2 °C
1979	14.4 °C
1980	13.7 °C
1981	13.8 °C
1982	13.2 °C
1983	14.0 °C
1984	13.4 °C
1985	13.9 °C
1986	13.7 °C
1987	14.7 °C
1988	14.0 °C
1989	14.5 °C
1990	14.8 °C
1991	13.6 °C
1992	14.9 °C
1993	14.2 °C
1994	14.1 °C
1995	14.3 °C
1996	13.8 °C
1997	14.5 °C
1998	14.2 °C
1999	13.1 °C
2000	13.7 °C
2001	13.0 °C
2002	13.6 °C
2003	13.9 °C
2005	14.4 °C
2006	14.0 °C
2007	13.4 °C
2008	12.8 °C
2010	12.9 °C
2011	12.5 °C
2012	13.0 °C
2013	13.8 °C
2014	14.5 °C
2015	14.4 °C
2016	14.4 °C
2017	14.0 °C
2018	14.3 °C
2019	14.6 °C
2020	14.5 °C
2021	14.8 °C
2022	14.1 °C
2023	14.6 °C
2024	14.2 °C
2025	14.6 °C
2026	14.6 °C

What this means for you: Since 1910, Forks's last spring frost has come about 1 day 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 Forks 1 E (NOAA GHCN-Daily). Years with too many missing days are left out.

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