When to plant in Zillah, WA

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

Safe to plant out

May 9

1 year in 10 has a later frost

Average last frost

Apr 24

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Oct 17

1 year in 10 by Oct 10

Frost-free days

176

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Wapato · 12.7 km away · station 256 m, town 249 m. How we match towns to stations

This season

Plan your garden.

Build my Zillah plan

Planting dates for common crops

Crop	Start indoors	Plant out or sow	Harvest from
Tomato	Mar 14 – Mar 28	May 9 – May 23	Jul 3
Sweet pepper	Feb 28 – Mar 14	May 9 – May 23	Jul 8
Lettuce (leaf)	Feb 20 – Feb 27	Mar 27 – Apr 10	May 6
Peas	—	Mar 13 – Apr 10	May 7
Bush beans	—	May 2 – May 23	Jun 21
Carrot	—	Apr 3 – May 15	Jun 2
Beet	—	Mar 27 – May 8	May 16
Potato	—	Apr 3 – Apr 24	Jun 12
Kale	Feb 13 – Feb 27	Mar 27 – Apr 10	May 9
Broccoli	Feb 13 – Feb 27	Mar 27 – Apr 17	May 26
Cucumber	Apr 11 – Apr 18	May 9 – May 23	Jun 28
Summer squash and zucchini	Apr 11 – Apr 18	May 9 – May 23	Jun 23
Winter squash	Apr 11 – Apr 18	May 9 – May 23	Jul 28
Sweet corn	—	May 2 – May 23	Jul 1
Onion (from sets)	—	Mar 27 – Apr 17	Jun 25
Garlic	—	Oct 3 – Oct 31 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Mar 13 – Apr 10	Apr 20
Basil	Mar 28 – Apr 11	May 9 – May 23	Jul 5

Plan all 65 crops for Zillah

Zillah'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
1916	Apr 23
1917	May 16
1918	May 19
1919	May 17
1920	Apr 22
1921	Apr 30
1922	Apr 30
1924	Apr 26
1925	Mar 29
1926	May 25
1927	Apr 21
1929	Apr 21
1930	May 7
1931	Apr 20
1932	Apr 6
1933	Apr 13
1934	Mar 24
1935	Apr 28
1936	Apr 5
1937	Apr 11
1938	Apr 13
1939	Apr 12
1940	Mar 19
1941	Mar 24
1942	Mar 27
1943	Apr 24
1944	Apr 16
1945	Apr 12
1946	Apr 26
1947	Apr 9
1949	Apr 3
1951	Apr 21
1952	Apr 29
1953	Apr 15
1954	Apr 29
1956	Apr 8
1957	Apr 7
1958	Apr 5
1959	Apr 14
1960	May 22
1961	May 6
1962	May 4
1963	Apr 16
1964	Apr 17
1965	May 5
1966	Apr 19
1967	Apr 28
1968	May 5
1969	Apr 30
1970	May 11
1971	May 17
1972	Apr 30
1973	Apr 8
1974	May 16
1975	May 5
1976	Apr 25
1977	May 5
1978	May 4
1979	Apr 20
1980	Mar 31
1981	May 6
1982	May 5
1983	Apr 25
1984	May 7
1985	May 12
1986	May 22
1987	Apr 19
1988	May 3
1989	Apr 3
1990	Mar 29
1991	Apr 26
1992	Apr 23
1993	Apr 19
1994	Mar 26
1995	Apr 15
1996	May 8
1997	Apr 12
1999	May 10
2000	Apr 29
2001	May 2
2002	May 8
2003	May 17
2004	Mar 28
2005	Apr 15
2007	Apr 20
2010	May 6
2011	May 1
2012	Apr 13

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1916	165
1917	153
1918	156
1919	134
1920	175
1921	134
1924	152
1925	200
1926	120
1927	163
1929	171
1930	153
1931	171
1932	195
1933	164
1934	184
1935	176
1936	199
1937	202
1938	187
1939	195
1940	221
1941	219
1942	210
1943	174
1944	199
1945	188
1946	167
1947	206
1949	187
1951	176
1952	168
1953	169
1954	153
1956	196
1957	196
1958	197
1959	175
1960	143
1961	164
1962	156
1963	185
1964	181
1965	134
1966	177
1967	174
1968	154
1969	165
1970	136
1971	151
1972	146
1973	203
1974	141
1975	169
1976	173
1977	174
1978	162
1979	183
1980	199
1981	149
1982	152
1983	147
1984	159
1985	139
1986	143
1987	174
1988	176
1989	182
1990	190
1991	178
1992	174
1993	183
1994	209
1995	186
1996	160
1997	190
2000	146
2001	170
2002	155
2003	160
2004	209
2007	183
2010	163
2011	176

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1916	16.7 °C
1917	17.4 °C
1918	16.4 °C
1919	17.2 °C
1920	17.0 °C
1921	17.0 °C
1922	18.3 °C
1924	19.0 °C
1925	19.8 °C
1926	18.1 °C
1927	17.8 °C
1929	18.0 °C
1930	18.8 °C
1931	19.1 °C
1932	19.0 °C
1933	18.1 °C
1934	19.9 °C
1935	18.5 °C
1936	20.0 °C
1937	18.5 °C
1938	20.0 °C
1939	18.8 °C
1940	20.0 °C
1941	19.3 °C
1942	19.3 °C
1943	19.0 °C
1944	19.4 °C
1945	18.6 °C
1946	18.6 °C
1947	19.3 °C
1949	19.4 °C
1950	19.0 °C
1951	19.2 °C
1952	19.3 °C
1953	17.4 °C
1954	17.0 °C
1956	19.1 °C
1957	18.8 °C
1958	20.2 °C
1959	17.9 °C
1960	18.6 °C
1961	19.6 °C
1962	18.1 °C
1963	18.5 °C
1964	17.2 °C
1965	18.8 °C
1966	18.9 °C
1967	19.4 °C
1968	18.4 °C
1969	18.9 °C
1970	18.4 °C
1971	18.5 °C
1972	18.8 °C
1973	19.8 °C
1974	19.1 °C
1975	18.8 °C
1976	18.4 °C
1977	19.7 °C
1978	18.6 °C
1979	20.0 °C
1980	18.5 °C
1981	18.1 °C
1982	17.6 °C
1983	17.4 °C
1984	16.8 °C
1985	19.0 °C
1986	18.2 °C
1987	19.4 °C
1988	18.1 °C
1989	18.6 °C
1990	19.6 °C
1991	18.3 °C
1992	19.1 °C
1993	17.5 °C
1994	19.6 °C
1995	17.9 °C
1996	17.5 °C
1997	18.2 °C
2000	18.3 °C
2001	18.6 °C
2002	18.4 °C
2003	19.2 °C
2004	19.0 °C
2006	18.7 °C
2007	18.5 °C
2010	17.6 °C
2011	17.4 °C

What this means for you: Since 1916, Zillah's last spring frost has stayed at about the same time of year. Year-to-year swings are large, so keep using the safe date rather than the trend.

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

Nearby towns

Toppenish Granger Wapato Sunnyside Union Gap Terrace Heights