When to plant in Highland, WA

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

Safe to plant out

Apr 13

1 year in 10 has a later frost

Average last frost

Mar 27

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Oct 29

1 year in 10 by Oct 15

Frost-free days

214

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Kennewick · 8.9 km away · station 119 m, town 334 m. How we match towns to stations

The station sits 215 m lower than the town, so frost dates here may be off by a week or more. Check them against local experience.

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 16 – Mar 2	Apr 13 – Apr 27	Jun 7
Sweet pepper	Feb 2 – Feb 16	Apr 13 – Apr 27	Jun 12
Lettuce (leaf)	Jan 25 – Feb 1	Mar 1 – Mar 15	Apr 10
Peas	—	Mar 1 – Mar 29	Apr 25
Bush beans	—	Apr 6 – Apr 27	May 26
Carrot	—	Mar 15 – Apr 26	May 14
Beet	—	Mar 15 – Apr 26	May 4
Potato	—	Mar 15 – Apr 5	May 24
Kale	Jan 25 – Feb 8	Mar 8 – Mar 22	Apr 20
Broccoli	Jan 18 – Feb 1	Mar 1 – Mar 22	Apr 30
Cucumber	Mar 16 – Mar 23	Apr 13 – Apr 27	Jun 2
Summer squash and zucchini	Mar 16 – Mar 23	Apr 13 – Apr 27	May 28
Winter squash	Mar 16 – Mar 23	Apr 13 – Apr 27	Jul 2
Sweet corn	—	Apr 6 – Apr 27	Jun 5
Onion (from sets)	—	Mar 1 – Mar 22	May 30
Garlic	—	Oct 13 – Nov 10 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Mar 1 – Mar 29	Apr 8
Basil	Mar 2 – Mar 16	Apr 13 – Apr 27	Jun 9

Plan all 65 crops for Highland

Highland'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
1895	Apr 21
1896	Apr 16
1897	May 2
1898	Apr 19
1899	Apr 22
1904	May 25
1906	May 5
1908	Apr 25
1909	May 8
1911	Apr 20
1912	Apr 15
1913	Apr 7
1915	Apr 21
1916	May 12
1917	Apr 29
1918	Apr 18
1919	Apr 21
1920	May 12
1921	May 11
1922	May 29
1923	Apr 9
1925	Apr 28
1926	Apr 13
1927	Apr 21
1928	Apr 8
1929	Apr 9
1930	Apr 11
1931	Apr 21
1932	Mar 12
1933	Apr 16
1934	Apr 14
1935	Apr 28
1936	Apr 4
1937	Mar 19
1938	Apr 13
1939	Apr 7
1940	Apr 3
1941	Apr 20
1942	Apr 4
1943	Apr 7
1944	Apr 16
1945	Apr 28
1946	May 1
1947	Apr 7
1948	Apr 8
1949	Apr 14
1950	Apr 30
1951	Apr 24
1952	Apr 29
1953	Apr 15
1954	May 2
1955	May 14
1956	Apr 6
1957	Mar 27
1958	Mar 27
1959	May 6
1960	Apr 22
1961	Apr 7
1962	Apr 11
1963	Apr 3
1964	Apr 23
1965	Apr 7
1966	Apr 19
1967	Apr 28
1968	Apr 22
1969	Mar 29
1970	Apr 27
1971	Apr 16
1972	May 1
1973	Apr 8
1974	Apr 13
1975	Apr 29
1977	Apr 19
1978	Mar 16
1980	Apr 11
1981	Apr 13
1984	Mar 30
1985	Apr 23
1986	May 7
1987	Mar 30
1988	Mar 28
1989	Mar 30
1990	Mar 27
1991	Mar 27
1992	Apr 8
1993	Mar 12
1994	Mar 26
1995	Mar 29
1996	Mar 26
1997	Apr 13
1999	Apr 2
2000	Mar 20
2002	Mar 23
2003	Apr 4
2004	Mar 3
2005	Mar 14
2006	Mar 21
2007	Apr 4
2008	Apr 4
2009	Mar 14
2010	Apr 10
2011	Apr 21
2012	Apr 8
2013	Apr 18
2014	Mar 23
2015	Mar 6
2016	Mar 19
2017	Feb 26
2018	Mar 24
2019	Mar 20
2020	Apr 14
2021	Apr 13
2022	Mar 11
2023	Mar 18
2024	Mar 16
2025	Mar 7
2026	Mar 28

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1896	162
1897	164
1898	157
1899	174
1908	152
1912	173
1915	176
1916	142
1917	170
1918	186
1919	160
1920	153
1921	123
1922	140
1923	196
1925	163
1926	163
1927	192
1928	186
1929	197
1930	182
1931	169
1932	231
1933	166
1934	163
1935	176
1936	199
1937	229
1938	185
1939	183
1940	206
1941	191
1942	195
1943	194
1944	172
1945	151
1946	161
1947	225
1948	190
1949	176
1950	153
1951	184
1952	168
1953	200
1954	151
1955	161
1956	198
1957	175
1958	207
1959	176
1960	190
1961	193
1962	219
1963	198
1964	177
1965	162
1966	172
1967	174
1968	192
1969	197
1970	150
1971	183
1972	147
1973	177
1974	174
1975	177
1977	197
1980	192
1981	183
1984	197
1985	158
1986	186
1987	199
1988	212
1989	212
1990	219
1991	214
1992	190
1993	237
1994	221
1995	213
1996	204
1997	192
1999	197
2000	235
2002	214
2004	245
2005	238
2006	223
2007	205
2008	190
2009	210
2010	214
2011	187
2012	215
2013	194
2014	232
2015	242
2016	243
2017	246
2018	228
2019	203
2020	192
2021	217
2022	237
2023	223
2024	234
2025	267

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1895	18.1 °C
1896	19.1 °C
1897	19.2 °C
1898	20.2 °C
1899	18.8 °C
1908	19.7 °C
1910	18.8 °C
1911	19.6 °C
1912	19.1 °C
1913	19.5 °C
1914	19.0 °C
1915	18.6 °C
1916	18.3 °C
1917	18.6 °C
1918	19.0 °C
1919	18.3 °C
1920	17.8 °C
1921	18.2 °C
1922	19.0 °C
1923	19.0 °C
1925	19.4 °C
1926	19.0 °C
1927	18.3 °C
1928	19.0 °C
1929	18.4 °C
1930	19.2 °C
1931	19.4 °C
1932	18.5 °C
1933	18.5 °C
1934	20.7 °C
1935	18.3 °C
1936	18.9 °C
1937	18.3 °C
1938	20.2 °C
1939	20.1 °C
1940	20.2 °C
1941	19.3 °C
1942	19.7 °C
1943	19.0 °C
1944	19.4 °C
1945	18.6 °C
1946	18.9 °C
1947	19.4 °C
1948	18.0 °C
1949	19.3 °C
1950	18.4 °C
1951	19.1 °C
1952	19.4 °C
1953	18.1 °C
1954	17.4 °C
1956	18.6 °C
1957	18.9 °C
1958	20.3 °C
1959	18.3 °C
1960	19.1 °C
1961	20.5 °C
1962	18.9 °C
1963	19.2 °C
1964	18.2 °C
1965	19.1 °C
1966	19.4 °C
1967	20.0 °C
1968	19.2 °C
1969	19.2 °C
1970	18.6 °C
1971	18.9 °C
1972	19.2 °C
1973	19.5 °C
1974	19.0 °C
1975	18.3 °C
1977	18.8 °C
1980	18.9 °C
1981	18.6 °C
1984	18.3 °C
1985	19.1 °C
1986	19.3 °C
1987	20.1 °C
1988	19.2 °C
1989	19.3 °C
1990	20.3 °C
1991	19.1 °C
1992	19.9 °C
1993	18.6 °C
1994	20.2 °C
1995	19.0 °C
1996	18.8 °C
1997	19.7 °C
1999	18.8 °C
2000	19.6 °C
2002	19.7 °C
2003	20.4 °C
2004	20.4 °C
2005	19.9 °C
2006	20.1 °C
2007	19.9 °C
2008	19.1 °C
2009	20.4 °C
2010	19.1 °C
2011	18.7 °C
2012	19.7 °C
2013	20.6 °C
2014	21.0 °C
2015	21.3 °C
2016	20.7 °C
2017	20.4 °C
2018	20.4 °C
2019	20.5 °C
2020	20.2 °C
2021	21.2 °C
2022	20.0 °C
2023	20.9 °C
2024	20.7 °C
2025	21.5 °C
2026	20.6 °C

What this means for you: Since 1895, Highland's last spring frost has come about 3 days earlier per decade, on average. The frost-free season has grown by about 5 days per decade. Year-to-year swings are large, so keep using the safe date rather than the trend.

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

Nearby towns

Finley Kennewick Burbank Pasco West Pasco Tri-Cities