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When to plant in Morton, WA

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

Safe to plant out
May 15
1 year in 10 has a later frost
Average last frost
May 2
about a 50% chance of a later one
Average first fall frost
Oct 6
1 year in 10 by Sep 21
Frost-free days
156
median, 1991–2020

Station used: Packwood · 46.3 km away · station 323 m, town 289 m. How we match towns to stations

The nearest reliable station is 46 km away, so frost dates here may be off by a week or more. Check them against local experience.

This season

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Planting dates for common crops

CropStart indoorsPlant out or sowHarvest from
Tomato Mar 20 – Apr 3 May 15 – May 29 Jul 9
Sweet pepper Mar 6 – Mar 20 May 15 – May 29 Jul 14
Lettuce (leaf) Feb 28 – Mar 7 Apr 4 – Apr 18 May 14
Peas — Mar 21 – Apr 18 May 15
Bush beans — May 8 – May 29 Jun 27
Carrot — Apr 11 – May 23 Jun 10
Beet — Apr 8 – May 20 May 28
Potato — Apr 11 – May 2 Jun 20
Kale Feb 21 – Mar 7 Apr 4 – Apr 18 May 17
Broccoli Feb 21 – Mar 7 Apr 4 – Apr 25 Jun 3
Cucumber Apr 17 – Apr 24 May 15 – May 29 Jul 4
Summer squash and zucchini Apr 17 – Apr 24 May 15 – May 29 Jun 29
Winter squash Apr 17 – Apr 24 May 15 – May 29 Aug 3
Sweet corn — May 8 – May 29 Jul 7
Onion (from sets) — Apr 4 – Apr 25 Jul 3
Garlic — Sep 22 – Oct 20 (fall) following summer
Spinach — Mar 21 – Apr 18 Apr 28
Basil Apr 3 – Apr 17 May 15 – May 29 Jul 11

Plan all 65 crops for Morton

Morton's weather over time

How the growing season has shifted here, year by year, from the station's own records.

Apr 1Apr 15May 1May 15Jun 1Jun 15 196019701980199020002010
Each year's last spring frostLong-term trend
See the data as a table
YearLast spring frost
1954May 27
1957Apr 20
1958May 14
1959May 12
1960May 15
1961May 24
1962Jun 11
1963May 16
1965May 10
1966Jun 1
1967May 25
1973May 28
1974May 31
1975Jun 7
1976Jun 3
1977Jun 9
1978May 30
1979May 30
1980May 3
1981May 12
1982May 6
1983Apr 28
1984May 7
1985May 15
1986May 16
1987May 20
1988Apr 26
1990Apr 30
1991May 2
1992May 12
1993Apr 6
1994May 3
1995May 19
1996May 10
1997May 2
1998Apr 20
1999May 11
2000May 7
2001May 6
2002May 16
2003May 19
2004Apr 9
2005Apr 19
2006May 13
2007May 14
2008Apr 26
2010May 9
2011May 13
2012May 12
2013May 1
2014Apr 15
2015May 7
2016Apr 16
2017Apr 16
2018Apr 23
2019May 5

What this means for you: Since 1954, Morton'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 Packwood (NOAA GHCN-Daily). Years with too many missing days are left out.

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