Salinas, CA 93906 Frost Dates
When can you plant in Salinas, CA?
Around 01/29 is the usual last spring frost, about 154 days away. The first fall frost typically arrives around 12/10, about 325 frost-free days later.
Salinas sits in USDA Zone 9b (25 to 30°F average annual minimum). The dates above are NOAA's 1991-2020 normal at the nearest reporting station, a 30-year average, not a forecast.
What to do before the first frost
About 15 weeks of growing season left in Salinas before the first fall frost — a cold frame or row cover can stretch harvest weeks past that date.
How much risk comes with planting early here
01/29 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 03/01 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 12/18 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Salinas compares
About 325 days separate Salinas's last and first frost, putting it 3,215 of 40,283 ZIP codes nationally. Within CA, it ranks 1,377 of 2,555.
Learn more
the frost range covers how to read the range around Salinas's dates instead of trusting one. local microclimates covers what one yard in Salinas can differ from the 93906 normal.