Sacramento, CA · zone 9b · ~317 frost-free days
When to plant in Sacramento: frost dates and zone 9b.
In Sacramento, the typical last spring frost lands around Jan 25 and the first fall frost around Dec 8, giving you about 317 frost-free days. Cool-season crops go out before the last frost; warm-season crops wait until after it.
The 2026 windows
Sow dates for Sacramento, keyed to your frost.
| Crop | Start indoors | Spring sow / set out | Fall sow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tomato, slicing | Dec 21 to Feb 20 | Feb 1 to Apr 3 | — |
| Lettuce, leaf | — | Dec 18 to Feb 1 | Sep 24 to Nov 23 |
| Carrot | — | Dec 18 to Jan 20 | Sep 12 to Oct 8 |
| Bush Bean | — | Jan 25 to Mar 17 | Aug 24 to Sep 26 |
| Cucumber, slicing | — | Feb 1 to May 3 | Aug 7 to Sep 7 |
| Pepper, bell | Dec 30 to Feb 20 | Feb 10 to Apr 3 | — |
| Kale | Nov 6 to Dec 4 | Dec 18 to Jan 15 | Sep 7 to Oct 23 |
| Spinach | — | Dec 4 to Jan 15 | Sep 24 to Nov 12 |
Sacramento sits in Zone 9b, but two gardens in the same city can be a week or two apart. The planner works from your ZIP code's frost dates, not the zone, so the dates land right for your block, not the metro average.
Build your Sacramento garden plan.
Tell the free planner what you want to eat and who you're feeding. It returns plant counts, spacing, and frost-safe sow dates for ZIP 95814 in about 60 seconds.
Sacramento planting questions
What planting zone is Sacramento, CA?+
Sacramento is in USDA hardiness zone 9b. Growing zone, gardening zone, and planting zone all mean the same thing: the USDA number, 9b here. It tells you what survives winter, not when to plant. Frost dates set your planting time, and the free planner uses your exact ZIP code's frost dates, which can differ by weeks across one metro.
When is the last frost date in Sacramento?+
The typical last spring frost in Sacramento, CA is around Jan 25. That is an average from local history, not a guarantee, so tender crops like tomatoes and peppers are safer with a week of buffer after it.
When is the first frost date in Sacramento?+
The typical first fall frost in Sacramento, CA arrives around Dec 8, closing a growing season of roughly 317 frost-free days. Count backward from it to find the last date a fall crop can still finish.
What can I plant now in Sacramento?+
It depends on the date. Cool-season crops like lettuce, kale, and spinach go out weeks before the last frost; warm-season crops like tomatoes and peppers wait until after Jan 25. The table above shows each crop's window; the free planner turns your ZIP into an exact, dated calendar.