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USDA Hardiness Zone 10a

Frost Dates for 93060 — Santa Paula, California

Averages from Ojai, Ca US, the nearest reporting station, 10.4 miles away.

Plant tender crops after March 21, and expect the first autumn freeze around November 15. That leaves about 235 frost-free days.

Last spring frost
March 21

50% probability

First fall frost
November 15

50% probability

Growing season
235 days

frost-free

Hardiness zone
10a

30 to 35°F annual low

Planting calendar for 93060

What to do and when, based on the frost normals for Santa Paula, California
WhenWhat to do
January 10 – January 24

Start peppers and aubergines indoors

They need eight to ten weeks under lights before they can go out.

January 24 – February 7

Start tomatoes indoors

Six to eight weeks gives a transplant big enough to set fruit early.

February 21 – March 7

Sow peas, spinach, lettuce, radish outdoors

These tolerate light frost and prefer to germinate in cool soil.

March 21 onward

Transplant tomatoes, peppers, basil, squash, cucumbers

The average last freeze has passed — still watch the actual forecast.

by August 23

Sow the autumn crop of carrots, beets and brassicas

They need about twelve weeks to size up before growth stops.

by November 1

Harvest tender crops, or be ready to cover them

A first freeze two weeks early is well within normal variation.

November 15 onward

Plant garlic, mulch beds, lift tender bulbs

Garlic wants a cold spell; bare soil loses structure over winter.

What these dates mean

Wait until after March 21 to put tender plants — tomatoes, peppers, basil, squash — in the ground. That is the date by which half of years in Santa Paula, California are past their last freeze. Harvest before November 15, which leaves roughly 235 frost-free days.

ZIP 93060 sits in USDA hardiness zone 10a, meaning the average coldest night of the year falls between 30 to 35°F. Zone decides what survives the winter; frost dates decide when to plant each spring. They are different questions, and a plant can pass one and fail the other.

These are thirty-year NOAA averages for 1991–2020, not a forecast. Any individual year can frost two to three weeks either side of these dates, so check the actual forecast before planting out.

Other zone 10a ZIP codes in California