When to plant in Kelso, WA

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

Safe to plant out

Apr 27

1 year in 10 has a later frost

Average last frost

Apr 5

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Nov 9

1 year in 10 by Oct 19

Frost-free days

215

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Longview · 5.5 km away · station 3 m, town 23 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 4 – Mar 18	Apr 29 – May 13	Jun 23
Sweet pepper	Feb 18 – Mar 4	Apr 29 – May 13	Jun 28
Lettuce (leaf)	Feb 1 – Feb 8	Mar 8 – Mar 22	Apr 17
Peas	—	Feb 22 – Mar 22	Apr 18
Bush beans	—	Apr 20 – May 11	Jun 9
Carrot	—	Mar 15 – Apr 26	May 14
Beet	—	Mar 11 – Apr 22	Apr 30
Potato	—	Mar 15 – Apr 5	May 24
Kale	Jan 25 – Feb 8	Mar 8 – Mar 22	Apr 20
Broccoli	Jan 25 – Feb 8	Mar 8 – Mar 29	May 7
Cucumber	Apr 1 – Apr 8	Apr 29 – May 13	Jun 18
Summer squash and zucchini	Apr 1 – Apr 8	Apr 29 – May 13	Jun 13
Winter squash	Apr 1 – Apr 8	Apr 29 – May 13	Jul 18
Sweet corn	—	Apr 20 – May 11	Jun 19
Onion (from sets)	—	Mar 8 – Mar 29	Jun 6
Garlic	—	Oct 19 – Nov 16 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Feb 22 – Mar 22	Apr 1
Basil	Mar 18 – Apr 1	Apr 29 – May 13	Jun 25

Plan all 65 crops for Kelso

Kelso'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
1926	Mar 28
1927	Apr 20
1928	Apr 8
1929	May 14
1930	Jun 18
1931	May 15
1932	Jun 23
1933	Jun 10
1934	Apr 3
1935	May 24
1936	Apr 5
1937	May 15
1938	Jun 10
1939	Jun 1
1940	Apr 16
1941	Apr 19
1942	Mar 27
1943	Apr 26
1944	May 10
1945	Apr 28
1946	Apr 30
1947	Apr 11
1948	Apr 28
1949	Apr 6
1950	Apr 24
1951	Apr 22
1952	May 5
1953	Apr 24
1954	Apr 30
1955	May 9
1956	Mar 17
1957	Apr 7
1958	Apr 4
1959	Apr 3
1960	Apr 10
1961	Apr 10
1962	May 5
1963	Apr 2
1964	Apr 30
1965	May 8
1966	May 27
1967	Apr 29
1968	Apr 23
1969	Apr 25
1970	Apr 14
1971	Apr 21
1972	May 1
1973	Apr 29
1974	Mar 22
1975	May 1
1976	Apr 21
1977	Apr 20
1978	May 5
1979	Apr 10
1980	Apr 30
1981	Apr 14
1982	Apr 26
1983	Apr 14
1984	Apr 27
1985	May 12
1986	Apr 24
1987	Apr 20
1988	Apr 25
1989	Mar 23
1990	Mar 14
1991	Apr 12
1992	Apr 23
1993	Mar 27
1994	Mar 6
1995	Apr 19
1998	Mar 30
2000	Jun 4
2001	Apr 20
2003	Mar 25
2004	Mar 3
2005	Feb 25
2006	Apr 30
2007	Apr 3
2008	Apr 15
2009	Apr 24
2010	Mar 18
2011	Apr 19
2012	Apr 7
2015	Mar 5
2016	Mar 17
2017	Mar 19
2018	Apr 3
2019	Apr 28
2020	Apr 14
2021	Apr 14
2022	Apr 17
2023	Apr 13
2024	Apr 17
2025	Mar 6
2026	Apr 1

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1926	179
1927	193
1928	163
1929	135
1930	36
1931	145
1932	105
1933	126
1934	174
1935	150
1936	158
1937	199
1938	126
1939	145
1940	192
1941	213
1942	204
1943	188
1944	183
1945	171
1946	168
1947	223
1948	171
1949	192
1950	158
1951	187
1952	180
1953	179
1954	176
1955	186
1956	246
1957	209
1958	203
1959	209
1960	209
1961	205
1962	201
1963	231
1964	197
1965	200
1966	164
1967	189
1968	191
1969	170
1970	195
1971	177
1972	181
1973	185
1975	194
1976	214
1977	201
1978	179
1979	216
1980	196
1981	205
1982	177
1983	228
1984	201
1985	148
1986	199
1987	210
1988	218
1989	223
1990	256
1991	198
1992	213
1993	224
1994	256
1995	194
1998	262
2000	159
2003	219
2004	269
2005	262
2006	182
2007	232
2008	222
2009	203
2010	247
2011	195
2012	215
2015	259
2016	263
2017	208
2018	193
2019	164
2020	193
2021	199
2022	205
2023	197
2024	226
2025	222

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1926	15.4 °C
1927	15.6 °C
1928	15.1 °C
1929	14.4 °C
1930	14.6 °C
1931	14.7 °C
1932	14.3 °C
1933	14.1 °C
1934	15.7 °C
1935	14.9 °C
1936	15.2 °C
1937	14.7 °C
1938	15.3 °C
1939	14.8 °C
1940	15.6 °C
1941	15.3 °C
1942	15.2 °C
1943	14.9 °C
1944	15.1 °C
1945	14.6 °C
1946	15.0 °C
1947	15.5 °C
1948	14.8 °C
1949	15.1 °C
1950	14.8 °C
1951	15.5 °C
1952	15.2 °C
1953	14.6 °C
1954	13.9 °C
1955	13.7 °C
1956	15.6 °C
1957	15.6 °C
1958	16.6 °C
1959	14.9 °C
1960	14.8 °C
1961	15.5 °C
1962	14.4 °C
1963	14.8 °C
1964	13.8 °C
1965	14.7 °C
1966	15.1 °C
1967	16.0 °C
1968	14.6 °C
1969	15.1 °C
1970	14.4 °C
1971	14.5 °C
1972	14.8 °C
1973	14.7 °C
1974	14.9 °C
1975	14.2 °C
1976	14.1 °C
1977	14.8 °C
1978	15.1 °C
1979	15.6 °C
1980	14.9 °C
1981	15.4 °C
1982	15.0 °C
1983	15.1 °C
1985	15.3 °C
1986	15.2 °C
1987	15.9 °C
1988	14.8 °C
1989	15.6 °C
1990	16.0 °C
1991	15.0 °C
1992	16.2 °C
1993	15.4 °C
1994	15.8 °C
1995	15.8 °C
1998	15.8 °C
1999	14.7 °C
2000	15.7 °C
2003	16.4 °C
2004	16.9 °C
2005	16.2 °C
2006	16.7 °C
2007	16.2 °C
2008	15.9 °C
2009	17.0 °C
2010	15.5 °C
2011	15.4 °C
2012	16.3 °C
2015	17.2 °C
2016	17.2 °C
2017	16.8 °C
2018	17.0 °C
2019	16.9 °C
2020	17.0 °C
2021	17.0 °C
2022	16.7 °C
2023	17.1 °C
2024	16.9 °C
2025	17.6 °C
2026	17.4 °C

What this means for you: Since 1926, Kelso's last spring frost has come about 4 days earlier per decade, on average. The frost-free season has grown by about 7 days per decade. Year-to-year swings are large, so keep using the safe date rather than the trend.

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

Nearby towns

Longview West Side Highway Longview Heights Rainier, OR West Longview Castle Rock