What to plant in February in California

Worked out for 11 cities from their own weather and frost dates, by zone.

What to sow and plant in February in California, by zone: frost-free, highs of 61–72 °F (Los Angeles, San Diego and 1 more): broad bean, peas, onion, lettuce, radish and 41 more; frost possible, highs of 61–72 °F (San Jose, Fresno and 3 more): broad bean, peas, onion, spinach, lettuce and 37 more; frost possible, highs of 50–61 °F (Santa Barbara and Redding): broad bean, peas, onion, spinach, lettuce and 42 more; frost-free, highs of 50–61 °F (San Francisco): broad bean, peas, onion, spinach, lettuce and 21 more.

In California, February is winter.

Frost-free, highs of 61–72 °F: Los Angeles, San Diego and Riverside

In February, on average, these cities have highs of 65 to 69 °F and lows of 46 to 49 °F, 2.2 to 3.0 in of rain on 5 to 6 days; the day lasts 10 h 58 min to 11 h 01 min (on the 15th).

No frost in February in 10 years of data: frost-tender crops can go in too, if it is warm enough for them.

How	What	Where
sow direct	Broad bean, peas, lettuce, radish, cabbage, Swiss chard, beet, parsley, cilantro, arugula, chamomile, dill, kohlrabi, mustard greens	all
plant sets	Onion, shallot	all
sow direct	Spinach	San Diego
sow direct	Carrot, broccoli, daikon, kale, parsnip	Los Angeles and San Diego
start indoors, plant out in March	Cauliflower	Los Angeles and San Diego
start indoors, plant out in April	Tomato, bell pepper, eggplant, chili pepper, moringa	Los Angeles and Riverside
start indoors, plant out in March	Zucchini, cucumber, melon, watermelon, pumpkin, basil, achocha, kiwano, luffa, okra, peanut	Los Angeles and Riverside
start indoors, plant out in March or sow direct	Sweet Corn, bok choy, Napa cabbage	Los Angeles and Riverside
start indoors, plant out in May or sow direct	Chayote	all
start indoors, plant out in May	Celeriac, celery	Los Angeles and San Diego
sow direct	Chickpea	Los Angeles and Riverside
start indoors, plant out in April or sow direct	Florence fennel	Los Angeles and Riverside
sow direct	Borage, corn	Riverside
start indoors, plant out in April	Brussels Sprouts	San Diego

Compared with January: new — luffa, okra, borage and corn; no longer sown — leek.

Not starting in February: green beans (April, sown direct) — dates for Los Angeles.

Ready to harvest in February in Los Angeles, if sown in the right month: broad bean (November), peas (December), spinach (December), lettuce (December), radish (January), carrot (December), broccoli (November) and Swiss chard (December).

Frost possible, highs of 61–72 °F: San Jose, Fresno, Sacramento, Bakersfield and 1 more

In February, on average, these cities have highs of 61 to 67 °F and lows of 41 to 43 °F, 2.2 to 4.4 in of rain on 6 to 8 days; the day lasts 10 h 45 min to 10 h 54 min (on the 15th).

February falls in the frost season: frost-tender crops wait. Average last frost: San Jose (February 24), Fresno (February 5), Sacramento (February 18), Bakersfield (February 16) and Stockton (February 4).

How	What	Where
sow direct	Broad bean, spinach, cabbage, daikon	San Jose, Fresno, Sacramento and 1 more
sow direct	Peas, lettuce, radish, Swiss chard, beet, parsley, cilantro, arugula, chamomile, dill, kohlrabi, mustard greens	all
plant sets	Onion, shallot	San Jose, Fresno, Sacramento and 1 more
sow direct	Carrot, broccoli, kale, parsnip	San Jose, Sacramento and Stockton
start indoors, plant out in March	Cauliflower	San Jose
start indoors, plant out in April	Tomato, bell pepper, eggplant, chili pepper, Florence fennel, moringa	San Jose, Sacramento and Stockton
start indoors, plant out in March	Zucchini, cucumber, melon, watermelon, pumpkin, sweet corn, basil, achocha, bok choy, kiwano, luffa, Napa cabbage, peanut	Fresno, Sacramento, Bakersfield and 1 more
sow direct	Chickpea	Fresno, Sacramento and Stockton
start indoors, plant out in March	Okra	Fresno and Bakersfield
start indoors, plant out in May	Celeriac, celery, chayote	San Jose
sow direct	Turnip	San Jose

Compared with January: new — zucchini, cucumber, melon, watermelon, pumpkin, sweet corn, basil, achocha and 6 more; no longer sown — Brussels sprouts.

Not starting in February: green beans (April, sown direct) — dates for Stockton.

Ready to harvest in February in Stockton, if sown in the right month: broad bean (November), peas (December), spinach (December), lettuce (December), radish (January), carrot (December), broccoli (November) and Swiss chard (December).

Frost possible, highs of 50–61 °F: Santa Barbara and Redding

In February, on average, these cities have highs of 60 °F and lows of 39 to 40 °F, 4.7 to 5.6 in of rain on 6 to 9 days; the day lasts 10 h 39 min to 10 h 57 min (on the 15th).

February falls in the frost season: frost-tender crops wait. Average last frost: Redding (February 15).

How	What	Where
sow direct	Broad bean, peas, spinach, lettuce, radish, carrot, cabbage, broccoli, Swiss chard, beet, arugula, chamomile, daikon, dill, kale, mustard greens, parsnip, turnip	all
plant sets	Onion, shallot	all
start indoors, plant out in March	Cauliflower	Santa Barbara
start indoors, plant out in April	Tomato, bell pepper, eggplant, Brussels sprouts, chili pepper, Florence fennel, moringa	Santa Barbara
start indoors, plant out in March	Zucchini, cucumber, melon, watermelon, pumpkin, sweet corn, basil, achocha, bok choy, kiwano, Napa cabbage, peanut	Redding
start indoors, plant out in April or sow direct	Parsley	all
sow direct	Cilantro, chickpea	Redding
start indoors, plant out in March or sow direct	Kohlrabi	all
start indoors, plant out in May	Celeriac, celery, chayote	Santa Barbara

Compared with January: new — zucchini, cucumber, melon, watermelon, pumpkin, sweet corn, cilantro, basil and 6 more.

Not starting in February: green beans (June, sown direct) — dates for Santa Barbara.

Ready to harvest in February in Santa Barbara, if sown in the right month: broad bean (November), peas (December), spinach (December), lettuce (December), radish (January), carrot (December), cabbage (October) and broccoli (November).

Frost-free, highs of 50–61 °F: San Francisco

In February, on average, San Francisco has highs of 57 °F and lows of 47 °F, 3.8 in of rain on 8 days; the day lasts 10 h 48 min (on the 15th).

No frost in February in 10 years of data: frost-tender crops can go in too, if it is warm enough for them.

How	What	Where
sow direct	Broad bean, peas, spinach, lettuce, radish, carrot, cabbage, broccoli, Swiss chard, beet, parsley, cilantro, arugula, chamomile, daikon, dill, kale, kohlrabi, mustard greens, parsnip, turnip	San Francisco
plant sets	Onion, shallot	San Francisco
start indoors, plant out in March	Cauliflower	San Francisco
start indoors, plant out in April	Leek, Brussels sprouts	San Francisco

The same as in January.

Not starting in February: tomato (no month outdoors by these rules), bell pepper (no month outdoors by these rules), zucchini (no month outdoors by these rules) and green beans (no month outdoors by these rules) — dates for San Francisco.

Ready to harvest in February in San Francisco, if sown in the right month: broad bean (November), peas (December), spinach (December), lettuce (December), radish (January), carrot (December), cabbage (October) and broccoli (November).

Frost dates in San Francisco

How we work it out

For each city we use its average weather in February and the months after (highs, lows and rain for 2016–2025, ERA5 reanalysis via Open-Meteo) and its average frost dates. A crop starts in February if the month's mean temperature reaches the minimum soil temperature for germination on its card (we use the mean air temperature as a stand-in for the soil's) and if, over its first months (up to three), the average highs stay within its group's range, with no frost for crops that cannot take it. Crops started indoors count from the month they are planted out.

Temperature groups from Colorado State University Extension: cool-season crops prefer 60–80 °F and lose quality in heat; hardy ones grow in days as cool as 40 °F, semi-hardy ones from 40–50 °F (we use 50 °F); warm-season crops need days above 55 °F, and the most tender (tomato, pepper, eggplant, melon, watermelon, squash) above 60 °F, up to 95 °F. Crops the guide does not name go into the stricter group by their frost hardiness. Fava (broad) beans, which the guide does not name, count as hardy: hardy varieties are sown in fall and overwinter (RHS). Garlic and bulbs: a month before the first frost, and later only while the ground is not frozen (as on each city's page).

This is a general rule from averages: your garden can be a week or two earlier or later, and a greenhouse or a cold frame brings the season forward. Greenly works out the dates for your location.