When to plant in Vashon, WA

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

Safe to plant out

Mar 28

1 year in 10 has a later frost

Average last frost

Mar 8

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Nov 18

1 year in 10 by Oct 31

Frost-free days

250

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Seattle Tacoma Ap · 10.9 km away · station 112 m, town 116 m. How we match towns to stations

This season

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Planting dates for common crops

Crop	Start indoors	Plant out or sow	Harvest from
Tomato	Mar 5 – Mar 19	Apr 30 – May 14	Jun 24
Sweet pepper	Feb 19 – Mar 5	Apr 30 – May 14	Jun 29
Lettuce (leaf)	Jan 4 – Jan 11	Feb 8 – Feb 22	Mar 20
Peas	—	Jan 28 – Feb 25	Mar 24
Bush beans	—	Apr 22 – May 13	Jun 11
Carrot	—	Mar 16 – Apr 27	May 15
Beet	—	Mar 16 – Apr 27	May 5
Potato	—	Mar 16 – Apr 6	May 25
Kale	Dec 28 – Jan 11	Feb 8 – Feb 22	Mar 23
Broccoli	Dec 28 – Jan 11	Feb 8 – Mar 1	Apr 9
Cucumber	Apr 2 – Apr 9	Apr 30 – May 14	Jun 19
Summer squash and zucchini	Apr 2 – Apr 9	Apr 30 – May 14	Jun 14
Winter squash	Apr 2 – Apr 9	Apr 30 – May 14	Jul 19
Sweet corn	—	Apr 22 – May 13	Jun 21
Onion (from sets)	—	Feb 8 – Mar 1	May 9
Garlic	—	Oct 15 – Nov 12 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Jan 28 – Feb 25	Mar 7
Basil	Mar 19 – Apr 2	Apr 30 – May 14	Jun 26

Plan all 65 crops for Vashon

Vashon'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
1948	Apr 27
1949	Mar 31
1950	Apr 24
1951	May 1
1952	Apr 29
1953	Apr 10
1954	May 1
1955	Apr 28
1956	Apr 6
1957	Feb 23
1958	Mar 14
1959	Mar 20
1960	Mar 14
1961	Apr 20
1962	Mar 28
1963	Apr 2
1964	Mar 19
1965	Mar 27
1966	Mar 22
1967	Mar 13
1968	Mar 30
1969	Mar 12
1970	Mar 2
1971	Mar 21
1972	Mar 7
1973	Mar 19
1974	Mar 8
1975	Apr 5
1976	Apr 2
1977	Feb 3
1978	Mar 1
1979	Feb 22
1980	Mar 6
1981	Feb 11
1982	Mar 17
1983	Feb 5
1984	Feb 5
1985	Apr 21
1986	Feb 20
1987	Feb 25
1988	Mar 11
1989	Mar 20
1990	Mar 13
1991	Mar 27
1992	Feb 16
1993	Feb 28
1994	Mar 23
1995	Mar 3
1996	Mar 2
1997	Apr 2
1998	Mar 29
1999	Mar 28
2000	Mar 20
2001	Mar 3
2002	Mar 20
2003	Feb 26
2004	Mar 2
2005	Feb 23
2006	Mar 12
2007	Mar 21
2008	Apr 1
2009	Mar 21
2010	Mar 9
2011	Feb 26
2012	Mar 19
2013	Mar 4
2014	Feb 9
2015	Mar 4
2016	Jan 9
2017	Feb 25
2018	Feb 26
2019	Mar 10
2020	Mar 15
2021	Mar 8
2022	Apr 13
2023	Mar 27
2024	Mar 7

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1948	182
1949	200
1950	198
1951	181
1952	186
1953	195
1954	176
1955	196
1956	204
1957	253
1958	245
1959	231
1960	250
1961	198
1962	244
1963	230
1964	239
1965	240
1966	230
1967	252
1968	250
1969	259
1970	238
1971	220
1972	270
1973	230
1974	240
1975	225
1976	237
1977	277
1978	254
1979	251
1980	249
1981	285
1982	237
1983	298
1984	267
1985	190
1986	262
1987	264
1988	263
1989	265
1990	249
1991	216
1992	279
1993	266
1994	238
1995	244
1996	242
1997	247
1998	264
1999	270
2000	235
2001	238
2002	226
2003	246
2004	246
2005	264
2006	231
2007	225
2008	255
2009	237
2010	256
2011	252
2012	235
2013	261
2014	275
2015	263
2016	330
2017	285
2018	280
2019	262
2020	238
2021	253
2022	209
2023	215
2024	265

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1948	13.8 °C
1949	15.0 °C
1950	14.0 °C
1951	14.6 °C
1952	14.2 °C
1953	13.6 °C
1954	13.3 °C
1955	12.9 °C
1956	14.5 °C
1957	15.1 °C
1958	16.4 °C
1959	14.5 °C
1960	14.5 °C
1961	15.4 °C
1962	14.2 °C
1963	15.2 °C
1964	14.0 °C
1965	15.0 °C
1966	14.8 °C
1967	16.3 °C
1968	15.2 °C
1969	15.6 °C
1970	14.8 °C
1971	14.7 °C
1972	15.0 °C
1973	14.9 °C
1974	15.6 °C
1975	15.1 °C
1976	15.4 °C
1977	15.9 °C
1978	15.4 °C
1979	16.0 °C
1980	14.5 °C
1981	15.0 °C
1982	15.0 °C
1983	15.2 °C
1984	14.7 °C
1985	15.2 °C
1986	15.2 °C
1987	16.0 °C
1988	15.2 °C
1989	16.1 °C
1990	16.1 °C
1991	15.4 °C
1992	16.6 °C
1993	15.5 °C
1994	16.6 °C
1995	16.4 °C
1996	15.4 °C
1997	15.7 °C
1998	15.8 °C
1999	14.3 °C
2000	14.9 °C
2001	14.4 °C
2002	15.0 °C
2003	15.9 °C
2004	16.3 °C
2005	15.7 °C
2006	16.1 °C
2007	15.7 °C
2008	15.0 °C
2009	16.2 °C
2010	14.8 °C
2011	14.8 °C
2012	15.5 °C
2013	17.0 °C
2014	17.1 °C
2015	17.3 °C
2016	17.1 °C
2017	16.9 °C
2018	17.2 °C
2019	17.1 °C
2020	16.9 °C
2021	16.8 °C
2022	16.0 °C
2023	16.7 °C
2024	16.1 °C

What this means for you: Since 1948, Vashon's last spring frost has come about 4 days earlier per decade, on average. The frost-free season has grown by about 6 days per decade. Year-to-year swings are large, so keep using the safe date rather than the trend.

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

Nearby towns

Southworth Burien Maplewood Normandy Park White Center Des Moines