California
Planting zones in Tuolumne County, California
This county spans USDA zones 6a to 9b, so there is no single zone for Tuolumne County and anyone who gives you one is rounding. 29% of its ZIP codes are zone 8b; the rest are not.
Your ZIP code
Get the exact answer for your address
Everything above describes Tuolumne County, California as a whole. Hardiness zones and freeze dates are published per ZIP code, so yours is exact — enter it and this page will tell you your zone, which NOAA station it comes from and how far away that station is.
Tuolumne County does not have one planting answer
Its own weather stations disagree about 22 of the 32 crops in this table right now, so any single list would be wrong for part of the county. That is not a gap in the data — it is what the data says.
- Shortest season
- 183 days
CHERRY VALLEY DAM, CA US (USC00041697) - Longest season
- 290 days
NEW MELONES DAM HQ, CA US (USC00046174)
107 days of growing season separate those two stations, and both serve ZIP codes in Tuolumne County. The ZIP lookup above answers for one address instead of averaging a place that has no average.
Why the hardiness zone does not settle this
A USDA zone is a winter-minimum statistic. It was never a growing-season one, and it does not behave like one: within a single zone the growing season runs a median 54 days wider at the 10th–90th percentile, and annual growing degree days vary by 2.02×.
The zones also overlap rather than stack — 30% of zone 6b freezes before the median zone 6a station. The zone tells you what survives your winter; the station tells you what finishes before your autumn.
All 5 stations agreeAt least one station
Every one of the 5 NOAA stations serving this county counts May 2 – November 2 as growing season (184 days). Widening to any single station gives February 20 – December 11 (294 days).
That is a 110-day difference inside one county — which is why this page gives ranges rather than a single planting date. The ZIP lookup above resolves it to one station.
Which zone you are in depends where you are
Tuolumne County covers 7 hardiness zones. A guide that gives the county one zone has picked whichever is largest and rounded everyone else into it — fine for the 29% in zone 8b and wrong for the other 71%. Here is the actual split.
| Zone | ZIP codes | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8b | 4 | 29% | |
| 9b | 4 | 29% | |
| 9a | 2 | 14% | |
| 6a | 1 | 7% | |
| 6b | 1 | 7% | |
| 7b | 1 | 7% | |
| 8a | 1 | 7% |
Zones are published per ZIP code, so yours is exact even though the county's is not. The hardiness tool will tell you which one you are in.
Your freeze dates
Across the 5 NOAA stations serving this county. These are medians — half of years freeze later than the date shown — so treat the later end of each range as the cautious one.
The growing season runs 183–290 days depending which station you are nearest, as published by NOAA rather than computed from the dates above. Summer highs average 83.2–94.2 °F in June–August. That is past the point where tomato and pepper pollen fails and cool-season greens bolt, so in this county heat decides as much as frost does. Summer rain over the same months runs 0.4–1.2" across those 5 stations, against the rough inch a week — about 13 inches over the same 92 days — that a vegetable garden is usually reckoned to want. The middle station covers about 4% of it, so a summer garden here is watered rather than rained on. The inches are NOAA's published normals; the inch a week is a rule of thumb, and it takes no account of a 88 °F summer afternoon drying the soil faster than a cool one.
Every ZIP code in Tuolumne County
Zones are published per ZIP code, not per county, so this is the exact answer rather than the county's average. The station column is the nearest one to that ZIP code's centroid and how far away it is — the same figure the tools use, shown here so you can see which ZIP codes are well covered and which are reaching.
| ZIP code | USDA zone | Nearest NOAA station | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 95305 | 9b | Groveland 2, CA | 12.3 km |
| 95309 | 9b | Sonora, CA | 11.4 km |
| 95310 | 9a | New Melones Dam Hq, CA | 13.1 km |
| 95321 | 6a | Hetch Hetchy, CA | 5.7 km |
| 95327 | 9b | Sonora, CA | 15.9 km |
| 95329 | 9b | Groveland 2, CA | 25.1 km |
| 95335 | 8a | Cherry Valley Dam, CA | 22.8 km |
| 95346 | 8b | Sonora, CA | 22.0 km |
| 95364 | 6b | Hetch Hetchy, CA | 29.3 km |
| 95370 | 9a | Sonora, CA | 3.9 km |
| 95372 | 8b | Sonora, CA | 11.2 km |
| 95375 | 7b | Cherry Valley Dam, CA | 28.2 km |
| 95379 | 8b | Groveland 2, CA | 13.6 km |
| 95383 | 8b | Sonora, CA | 19.5 km |
ZIP-code positions are area centroids, so a large rural ZIP code's listed distance is measured from the middle of its area rather than from any particular address in it.
When to start seeds in Tuolumne County
Every date below is anchored on the last spring freeze at each station and reported as a range across all 5 of them, because no one station speaks for the county.
| Crop | Job | When | Offset |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🥦 Broccoli | Start indoors | January 9 – March 21 | 6 wk before |
| 🥬 Cabbage | Start indoors | January 9 – March 21 | 6 wk before |
| 🥬 Collards | Start indoors | January 9 – March 21 | 6 wk before |
| 🥬 Kale | Start indoors | January 9 – March 21 | 6 wk before |
| 🥬 Leaf Lettuce | Start indoors | January 9 – March 21 | 6 wk before |
| 🫛 Peas | Direct sow | January 9 – March 21 | 6 wk before |
| 🥬 Spinach | Direct sow | January 9 – March 21 | 6 wk before |
| 🍠 Sweet Potato | Start indoors | January 9 – March 21 | 6 wk before |
| 🍅 Tomatoes | Start indoors | January 9 – March 21 | 6 wk before |
| 🥬 Bok Choy | Start indoors | January 16 – March 28 | 5 wk before |
| 🥬 Kohlrabi | Start indoors | January 16 – March 28 | 5 wk before |
| 🥬 Swiss Chard | Start indoors | January 16 – March 28 | 5 wk before |
| 🥬 Arugula | Direct sow | January 23 – April 4 | 4 wk before |
| 🥬 Baby Salad Greens | Direct sow | January 23 – April 4 | 4 wk before |
| 🥕 Beets | Direct sow | January 23 – April 4 | 4 wk before |
| 🧅 Green Onions | Direct sow | January 23 – April 4 | 4 wk before |
| 🥬 Mustard Greens | Direct sow | January 23 – April 4 | 4 wk before |
| 🌶️ Okra | Start indoors | January 23 – April 4 | 4 wk before |
| 🌱 Radishes | Direct sow | January 23 – April 4 | 4 wk before |
| 🥔 Turnips | Direct sow | January 23 – April 4 | 4 wk before |
| 🥬 Cabbage | Set out | January 30 – April 11 | 3 wk before |
| 🥕 Carrots | Direct sow | January 30 – April 11 | 3 wk before |
| 🥬 Collards | Direct sow | January 30 – April 11 | 3 wk before |
| 🥬 Collards | Set out | January 30 – April 11 | 3 wk before |
| 🥒 Cucumbers | Start indoors | January 30 – April 11 | 3 wk before |
| 🧅 Green Onions | Set out | January 30 – April 11 | 3 wk before |
| 🥬 Kale | Direct sow | January 30 – April 11 | 3 wk before |
| 🥬 Kale | Set out | January 30 – April 11 | 3 wk before |
| 🥬 Kohlrabi | Direct sow | January 30 – April 11 | 3 wk before |
| 🥬 Kohlrabi | Set out | January 30 – April 11 | 3 wk before |
| 🥬 Leaf Lettuce | Direct sow | January 30 – April 11 | 3 wk before |
| 🎃 Pumpkins | Start indoors | January 30 – April 11 | 3 wk before |
| 🎃 Summer Squash | Start indoors | January 30 – April 11 | 3 wk before |
| 🎃 Winter Squash | Start indoors | January 30 – April 11 | 3 wk before |
| 🥒 Zucchini | Start indoors | January 30 – April 11 | 3 wk before |
| 🥬 Bok Choy | Direct sow | February 6 – April 18 | 2 wk before |
| 🥬 Bok Choy | Set out | February 6 – April 18 | 2 wk before |
| 🥦 Broccoli | Set out | February 6 – April 18 | 2 wk before |
| 🌿 Cilantro | Direct sow | February 6 – April 18 | 2 wk before |
| 🥬 Leaf Lettuce | Set out | February 6 – April 18 | 2 wk before |
| 🥬 Swiss Chard | Direct sow | February 6 – April 18 | 2 wk before |
| 🥬 Swiss Chard | Set out | February 6 – April 18 | 2 wk before |
| 🧅 Green Onions | Start indoors | February 12 – December 26 | 8 wk before |
| 🌶️ Peppers | Start indoors | February 12 – December 26 | 8 wk before |
| 🌿 Dill | Direct sow | February 13 – April 25 | 1 wk before |
| 🫘 Bush Beans | Direct sow | February 27 – May 9 | 1 wk after |
| 🥒 Cucumbers | Set out | February 27 – May 9 | 1 wk after |
| 🎃 Pumpkins | Direct sow | February 27 – May 9 | 1 wk after |
| 🎃 Pumpkins | Set out | February 27 – May 9 | 1 wk after |
| 🎃 Summer Squash | Direct sow | February 27 – May 9 | 1 wk after |
| 🎃 Summer Squash | Set out | February 27 – May 9 | 1 wk after |
| 🌽 Sweet Corn | Direct sow | February 27 – May 9 | 1 wk after |
| 🍅 Tomatoes | Set out | February 27 – May 9 | 1 wk after |
| 🎃 Winter Squash | Direct sow | February 27 – May 9 | 1 wk after |
| 🎃 Winter Squash | Set out | February 27 – May 9 | 1 wk after |
| 🥒 Zucchini | Direct sow | February 27 – May 9 | 1 wk after |
| 🥒 Zucchini | Set out | February 27 – May 9 | 1 wk after |
| 🥒 Cucumbers | Direct sow | March 6 – May 16 | 2 wk after |
| 🌶️ Okra | Direct sow | March 6 – May 16 | 2 wk after |
| 🌶️ Okra | Set out | March 6 – May 16 | 2 wk after |
| 🌶️ Peppers | Set out | March 6 – May 16 | 2 wk after |
| 🫘 Southern Peas | Direct sow | March 6 – May 16 | 2 wk after |
| 🍠 Sweet Potato | Set out | March 6 – May 16 | 2 wk after |
Offsets are published guidance; the dates they land on are computed from measured NOAA normals. The seed-starting tool does this for your own ZIP code and counts the days.
What survives the winter changes across Tuolumne County
Zone 8a carries 57 of 74 perennial edibles; zone 9b carries 40. The best number is not always the warmest zone — the count peaks in the middle and falls both ways, because the warm end loses plants to insufficient winter chill and summer heat, not to cold.
Hardiness ranges are a judgement, published by growers rather than measured; the zone they are compared against is measured. On a warm-end verdict, check with your local extension service — a coastal zone 8 and an inland zone 8 are not the same summer.
At least one station here freezes across the new year, which puts the two ends of a spread on opposite sides of the calendar. Drawing it would produce a bar spanning almost the whole year and meaning nothing, so none is drawn.
The 5 stations behind these numbers
All 5 NOAA stations whose normals this page quotes, spanning about 18 km north to south. Every one is named with its identifier in the station list below — this page does not single one out, because no one station speaks for a whole county.
A relative sketch, not a map with a projection: longitude is adjusted for latitude so the shape is not stretched, and there is no basemap. For the one station nearest a specific address, with its real distance, use the ZIP lookup above.
These are the stations this county's ZIP codes actually cite as nearest — not a claim that each one sits inside its boundary, since a rural ZIP legitimately reaches over it. Every figure above comes from them, and each is named so you can check it.
| Station | NOAA ID | Last spring freeze | First fall freeze | Season |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cherry Valley Dam, CA | USC00041697 | May 2 | November 4 | 183 days |
| Groveland 2, CA | USC00043669 | April 22 | November 2 | 192 days |
| Hetch Hetchy, CA | USC00043939 | April 16 | November 12 | 208 days |
| New Melones Dam Hq, CA | USC00046174 | February 20 | December 11 | 290 days |
| Sonora, CA | USC00048353 | April 9 | November 9 | 213 days |
These are medians, not averages — NOAA publishes freeze dates as a probability distribution, and half of years freeze later than the date shown.
Your own ZIP
Work out your own dates
This page describes a whole county. Every tool below answers for one ZIP code, which is the grain the underlying data is published at.
Other places to compare
Tuolumne County sits in California. That page carries the whole state's zone spread, its metro areas, and every other county in it with a page here.
More of California
- Trinity County, CA 7b, 8b, 9a
- Modoc County, CA 6b–7a
- Inyo County, CA 7a, 8a, 8b, 9a
- Mariposa County, CA 7a, 8a, 8b, 9a, 9b
- Mono County, CA 6a–7a
- Nevada County, CA 6b, 8b, 9a, 9b
- Sierra County, CA 6b, 7a, 8a, 8b, 9a
- Glenn County, CA 9a–9b
- Del Norte County, CA 8a, 9b
- Humboldt County, CA 9a–9b
- Mendocino County, CA 9a–10a
- Siskiyou County, CA 6b, 7b, 8a, 8b
Gear
If you want to act on this
Each link opens an Amazon search rather than a product we picked. We have not tested these and do not rank them — the search is the honest version, and you choose.
- Trunk wrapZone 6a is cold enough that winter sun on a young trunk does more damage than the cold does.
- Row cover and frost clothThe season here closes at the first fall freeze dated above — a cover buys back some of those days at the end.
- MulchFor the perennials nearest their cold limit in zone 6a, where an insulated crown is what decides whether they come back.
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. That costs you nothing extra, and it buys no influence over anything on this site: the dates come from NOAA normals and the zones from the USDA, and no product affects either.
Sources
Where these numbers come from
Hardiness zones are the USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, published per ZIP code by PRISM at Oregon State. Freeze dates and growing-season lengths are NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, taken per station and cited above by name and NOAA ID.
County boundaries come from the Census ZCTA-to-county relation, which is what places each ZIP code — and which treats parishes, boroughs and census areas as county equivalents. No station is chosen to represent this county: every range above is taken across all of them and the count is stated, because picking one would be a judgement dressed as a measurement.