Early spring planting in raised beds with plastic mulch on a small farm in southeast Fresno

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Gardening by county

California Gardening by County

Frost dates, planting zones and planting calendars for all 58 California counties. The last spring frost ranges from Dec 29 (San Mateo County) to Jun 11 (Sierra County), and USDA zones run from 5b to 11a.

Photo: Early spring planting in raised beds with plastic mulch on a small farm in southeast Fresno. RichardHarrison, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

California garden tools

California frost dates

Last spring and first fall frost for every county, with today’s frost outlook.

What to plant now in California

This week’s planting list for your county from the extension calendar.

California planting calendar

Spring and fall planting dates from UC Master Gardener Program.

California planting zone map

USDA 2023 hardiness zone for every county and the official map.

Close view of rice plants in a field in the Sacramento Valley

Combine harvesting rice in the Sacramento Valley

Snow on Cloudripper and Bishop Pass in the Sierra Nevada seen from Swall Meadows

Green Emigrant Meadow below Brown Bear Pass in the Sierra Nevada

Gardening in California

The growing season between the last spring and first fall freeze runs from 91 days in Sierra County to 365 days in Alameda County. The first fall frost comes as early as Sep 10 in Sierra County and as late as Jan 7 in Los Angeles County.

The UC Master Gardener Program calendar has four regions, North and North Coast, South Coast, Interior Valleys and Desert Valleys; each county uses the region it is assigned to here.

The county frost dates come from 58 NOAA weather stations with full 1991-2020 records. The most common USDA zones are 9b (26 counties), 9a (13 counties), 10a (5 counties).

When to plant in California

When to plant tomatoes
When to plant peppers
When to plant potatoes
When to plant sweet potatoes
When to plant sweet corn
When to plant green beans
When to plant lima beans
When to plant peas
When to plant cucumbers
When to plant squash
When to plant winter squash
When to plant pumpkins
When to plant watermelon
When to plant cantaloupe
When to plant okra
When to plant eggplant
When to plant lettuce
When to plant spinach
When to plant kale
When to plant mustard greens
When to plant turnips
When to plant swiss chard
When to plant cabbage
When to plant broccoli
When to plant cauliflower
When to plant brussels sprouts
When to plant kohlrabi
When to plant carrots
When to plant beets
When to plant radishes
When to plant onions
When to plant garlic
When to plant leeks
When to plant asparagus
When to plant rutabagas
When to plant parsley

California counties

Alameda CountyZone 9b, last frost Jan 2
Alpine CountyZone 6b, last frost May 30
Amador CountyZone 9b, last frost Mar 4
Butte CountyZone 9b, last frost Mar 4
Calaveras CountyZone 9a, last frost Jan 22
Colusa CountyZone 9b, last frost Feb 14
Contra Costa CountyZone 9b, last frost Jan 7
Del Norte CountyZone 9b, last frost Mar 11
El Dorado CountyZone 9b, last frost Mar 31
Fresno CountyZone 9b, last frost Jan 30
Glenn CountyZone 9b, last frost Feb 25
Humboldt CountyZone 9b, last frost Feb 22
Imperial CountyZone 10a, last frost Jan 4
Inyo CountyZone 9a, last frost Apr 29
Kern CountyZone 8b, last frost Jan 31
Kings CountyZone 9a, last frost Feb 7
Lake CountyZone 9a, last frost Apr 10
Lassen CountyZone 7a, last frost May 16
Los Angeles CountyZone 10a, last frost Jan 8
Madera CountyZone 9a, last frost Feb 18
Marin CountyZone 9b, last frost Jan 11
Mariposa CountyZone 9a, last frost May 12
Mendocino CountyZone 9a, last frost May 5
Merced CountyZone 9a, last frost Mar 3
Modoc CountyZone 6b, last frost Jun 3
Mono CountyZone 6a, last frost Jun 10
Monterey CountyZone 9b, last frost Feb 4
Napa CountyZone 9b, last frost Feb 12
Nevada CountyZone 9a, last frost Apr 14
Orange CountyZone 10b, last frost Jan 5
Placer CountyZone 9a, last frost Feb 25
Plumas CountyZone 7b, last frost May 22
Riverside CountyZone 9b, last frost Jan 31
Sacramento CountyZone 9b, last frost Jan 12
San Benito CountyZone 9a, last frost Feb 19
San Bernardino CountyZone 9a, last frost May 5
San Diego CountyZone 10a, last frost Jan 6
San Francisco CountyZone 10b, last frost Dec 30
San Joaquin CountyZone 9b, last frost Feb 6
San Luis Obispo CountyZone 8b, last frost Jan 16
San Mateo CountyZone 10a, last frost Dec 29
Santa Barbara CountyZone 10a, last frost Apr 11
Santa Clara CountyZone 9b, last frost Jan 2
Santa Cruz CountyZone 9b, last frost Jan 29
Shasta CountyZone 9a, last frost Mar 3
Sierra CountyZone 6b, last frost Jun 11
Siskiyou CountyZone 8a, last frost Apr 30
Solano CountyZone 9b, last frost Jan 15
Sonoma CountyZone 9b, last frost Feb 25
Stanislaus CountyZone 9b, last frost Jan 31
Sutter CountyZone 9b, last frost Jan 15
Tehama CountyZone 9b, last frost Feb 22
Trinity CountyZone 8b, last frost Apr 16
Tulare CountyZone 9b, last frost Jan 23
Tuolumne CountyZone 6a, last frost Apr 9
Ventura CountyZone 8b, last frost Dec 31
Yolo CountyZone 9b, last frost Feb 10
Yuba CountyZone 9b, last frost Feb 11

California at a glance

58Counties

5b to 11aUSDA zones

36Crops with dates

UC Master Gardener ProgramExtension source

When to plant in California: crop by crop

Planting dates for each crop in California, from the UC Master Gardener Program calendar.

Tomatoes

Peppers

Potatoes

Sweet Corn

Green Beans

Cucumbers

Squash

Lettuce

Onions

Garlic

Peas

Watermelon

Pumpkins

Broccoli

Carrots

Okra

Kale

Spinach

Cabbage

Sweet Potatoes

Lima Beans

Winter Squash

Cantaloupe

Eggplant

Mustard Greens

Turnips

Swiss Chard

Cauliflower

Brussels Sprouts

Kohlrabi

Beets

Radishes

Leeks

Asparagus

Rutabagas

Parsley

California gardening questions

When is the last frost in California?

Between Dec 29 and Jun 11 depending on the county (50% chance, NOAA 1991-2020).

What zone is California?

USDA zones 5b to 11a on the 2023 map.

What can I plant now in California?

See what to plant now in California for this week’s list by county.

Where does this information come from?

NOAA NCEI climate normals, the USDA ARS 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map and UC Master Gardener Program planting publications. Every page lists its sources.

Tractor turning a cover crop into the soil before planting in the Salinas Valley

Photos: Early spring planting in raised beds with plastic mulch on a small farm in southeast Fresno: RichardHarrison, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Tractor turning a cover crop into the soil before planting in the Salinas Valley: USDAgov, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons; Close view of rice plants in a field in the Sacramento Valley: USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons; Combine harvesting rice in the Sacramento Valley: USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons; Snow on Cloudripper and Bishop Pass in the Sierra Nevada seen from Swall Meadows: Dcrjsr, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Green Emigrant Meadow below Brown Bear Pass in the Sierra Nevada: Dcrjsr, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Unripe green tomato on the plant: Microrao, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Pepper plant in a kitchen garden loaded with green, yellow and red peppers: NPS, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons; Potato plant growing in a garden bed: Kolforn (Kolforn), CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Field of sweet corn in summer: Marathon, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Clusters of long green bean pods hanging from a climbing bean vine: Nirajan_pant, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Cucumber vines climbing a wooden trellis in a kitchen garden: NPS, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons; Zucchini plant with a yellow flower: net_efekt from Oxford, UK, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Heads of lettuce in a garden bed: Prenn, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Long rows of green onion plants growing in sandy farm soil: ליזי שאנן, CC BY 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons; Neat rows of young garlic shoots growing in dark tilled soil: Timothy A. Gonsalves, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Pea plants growing up supports in a garden: Kolforn (Kolforn), CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Young watermelon plant in a garden: Forest and Kim Starr, CC BY 3.0 us, via Wikimedia Commons; Harvested pumpkins and squash in a garden: Lolailand, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Green broccoli head growing in the center of a leafy plant: Pinakpani, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Rows of carrots growing between rye windbreak strips in a farm field: Photo by Fred Gasper, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons; Upright okra plant with several green pods against a clear blue sky: Wilfredor, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons; Kale leaves covered in frost: Ruth Hartnup from Vancouver, Canada, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Close view of a spinach plant with crinkled dark green leaves in soil: Алексей Тараканов, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Cabbage heads forming among broad outer leaves in a garden plot: SuSanA Secretariat, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Sweet potato vines covering the ground: Forest and Kim Starr, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Lima bean seeds: Filo gèn', CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Butternut squash in the garden: Geo Lightspeed7, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Cantaloupe vine with flowers: Photo by David J. Stang, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Eggplant flower and fruit on the plant: Elmer Centeno Guevarra, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Mustard plant (Brassica juncea) in flower: Dr.S.Soundarapandian, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons; White turnip roots swelling above the soil under leafy green tops: Miya, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Red-stemmed Swiss chard plants growing in a garden bed with drip line: mercedesfromtheeighties, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Creamy white cauliflower head growing among large blue-green leaves: Edukeralam,( Navaneeth Krishnan S), CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Field of tall Brussels sprouts plants with sprouts along the stalks: Schlaghecken Josef, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Rows of young kohlrabi plants growing in a sandy farm field: AnRo0002, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons; Red beets growing in a field with some roots pulled and cut open: Arn, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Red radish root peeking from dark garden soil beneath green leaves: GT1976, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Bed of blue-green leeks growing in a walled kitchen garden: Photograph by Mike Peel ( www.mikepeel.net )., CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Rows of feathery asparagus ferns in a commercial asparagus field: User:Morri362, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Freshly pulled rutabaga roots lying in a row on garden soil: Picasa user Seedambassadors, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Close view of curly parsley growing thick and bright green: Pohled 111, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Curly kale leaves coated in white frost crystals in a community garden bed: Ruth Hartnup from Vancouver, Canada, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Rows of tiny green seedlings growing in black plastic seed trays: Pascal Kings, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Wooden basket of fresh carrots with green tops and red and yellow onions: Markus Spiske, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons; Rows of apple trees in white blossom along a grassy orchard alley: Philip Halling, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.