Louisiana
Planting zones in Vernon Parish, Louisiana
Every ZIP code in this parish is USDA zone 9a — so unlike most of the places people look up, there is one right answer here and it holds wherever you are in the parish.
Your ZIP code
Get the exact answer for your address
Everything above describes Vernon Parish, Louisiana 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.
The growing season in Vernon Parish is closing
Nothing in the 32-crop table still has time to mature here. The first fall freeze normally arrives November 9 – November 27 across the 6 NOAA stations serving this parish .
Your next season already has a date
The first job of it is 🧅 Green Onions, start indoors, around January 4 – January 23 — counted back from a last spring freeze of March 1 – March 20 here.
These are ranges across the whole parish. The ZIP lookup above gives the dates from your own nearest station instead.
All 6 stations agreeAt least one station
Every one of the 6 NOAA stations serving this parish counts March 20 – November 9 as growing season (234 days). Widening to any single station gives March 1 – November 27 (271 days).
That is a 37-day difference inside one parish — which is why this page gives ranges rather than a single planting date. The ZIP lookup above resolves it to one station.
Your freeze dates
Across the 6 NOAA stations serving this parish. 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 234–268 days depending which station you are nearest, as published by NOAA rather than computed from the dates above. Summer highs average 91.6–92.9 °F in June–August. That is past the point where tomato and pepper pollen fails and cool-season greens bolt, so in this parish heat decides as much as frost does. Summer rain over the same months runs 12.5–14.3" across those 6 stations, against the rough inch a week — about 13 inches over the same 92 days — that a vegetable garden is usually reckoned to want. At the middle station that is covered, so watering in Vernon Parish is for the gaps between storms rather than the whole season. The inches are NOAA's published normals; the inch a week is a rule of thumb, and it takes no account of a 92 °F summer afternoon drying the soil faster than a cool one.
Every ZIP code in Vernon Parish
Zones are published per ZIP code, not per parish, so this is the exact answer rather than the parish'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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 70639 | 9a | Rosepine Rsch Stn, LA | 21.3 km |
| 70656 | 9a | Elizabeth, LA | 15.4 km |
| 70659 | 9a | Rosepine Rsch Stn, LA | 2.7 km |
| 71403 | 9a | Toledo Bend Dam, TX | 12.1 km |
| 71438 | 9a | Ft Polk Fullerton Lndg Strip, LA | 9.8 km |
| 71439 | 9a | Hodges Gardens, LA | 4.5 km |
| 71446 | 9a | Leesville, LA | 6.5 km |
| 71459 | 9a | Leesville, LA | 7.4 km |
| 71461 | 9a | Leesville, LA | 6.0 km |
| 71474 | 9a | Ft Polk Fullerton Lndg Strip, LA | 14.8 km |
| 71475 | 9a | Leesville, LA | 12.8 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 Vernon Parish
Every date below is anchored on the last spring freeze at each station and reported as a range across all 6 of them, because no one station speaks for the parish.
| Crop | Job | When | Offset |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🧅 Green Onions | Start indoors | January 4 – January 23 | 8 wk before |
| 🌶️ Peppers | Start indoors | January 4 – January 23 | 8 wk before |
| 🥦 Broccoli | Start indoors | January 18 – February 6 | 6 wk before |
| 🥬 Cabbage | Start indoors | January 18 – February 6 | 6 wk before |
| 🥬 Collards | Start indoors | January 18 – February 6 | 6 wk before |
| 🥬 Kale | Start indoors | January 18 – February 6 | 6 wk before |
| 🥬 Leaf Lettuce | Start indoors | January 18 – February 6 | 6 wk before |
| 🫛 Peas | Direct sow | January 18 – February 6 | 6 wk before |
| 🥬 Spinach | Direct sow | January 18 – February 6 | 6 wk before |
| 🍠 Sweet Potato | Start indoors | January 18 – February 6 | 6 wk before |
| 🍅 Tomatoes | Start indoors | January 18 – February 6 | 6 wk before |
| 🥬 Bok Choy | Start indoors | January 25 – February 13 | 5 wk before |
| 🥬 Kohlrabi | Start indoors | January 25 – February 13 | 5 wk before |
| 🥬 Swiss Chard | Start indoors | January 25 – February 13 | 5 wk before |
| 🥬 Arugula | Direct sow | February 1 – February 20 | 4 wk before |
| 🥬 Baby Salad Greens | Direct sow | February 1 – February 20 | 4 wk before |
| 🥕 Beets | Direct sow | February 1 – February 20 | 4 wk before |
| 🧅 Green Onions | Direct sow | February 1 – February 20 | 4 wk before |
| 🥬 Mustard Greens | Direct sow | February 1 – February 20 | 4 wk before |
| 🌶️ Okra | Start indoors | February 1 – February 20 | 4 wk before |
| 🌱 Radishes | Direct sow | February 1 – February 20 | 4 wk before |
| 🥔 Turnips | Direct sow | February 1 – February 20 | 4 wk before |
| 🥬 Cabbage | Set out | February 8 – February 27 | 3 wk before |
| 🥕 Carrots | Direct sow | February 8 – February 27 | 3 wk before |
| 🥬 Collards | Direct sow | February 8 – February 27 | 3 wk before |
| 🥬 Collards | Set out | February 8 – February 27 | 3 wk before |
| 🥒 Cucumbers | Start indoors | February 8 – February 27 | 3 wk before |
| 🧅 Green Onions | Set out | February 8 – February 27 | 3 wk before |
| 🥬 Kale | Direct sow | February 8 – February 27 | 3 wk before |
| 🥬 Kale | Set out | February 8 – February 27 | 3 wk before |
| 🥬 Kohlrabi | Direct sow | February 8 – February 27 | 3 wk before |
| 🥬 Kohlrabi | Set out | February 8 – February 27 | 3 wk before |
| 🥬 Leaf Lettuce | Direct sow | February 8 – February 27 | 3 wk before |
| 🎃 Pumpkins | Start indoors | February 8 – February 27 | 3 wk before |
| 🎃 Summer Squash | Start indoors | February 8 – February 27 | 3 wk before |
| 🎃 Winter Squash | Start indoors | February 8 – February 27 | 3 wk before |
| 🥒 Zucchini | Start indoors | February 8 – February 27 | 3 wk before |
| 🥬 Bok Choy | Direct sow | February 15 – March 6 | 2 wk before |
| 🥬 Bok Choy | Set out | February 15 – March 6 | 2 wk before |
| 🥦 Broccoli | Set out | February 15 – March 6 | 2 wk before |
| 🌿 Cilantro | Direct sow | February 15 – March 6 | 2 wk before |
| 🥬 Leaf Lettuce | Set out | February 15 – March 6 | 2 wk before |
| 🥬 Swiss Chard | Direct sow | February 15 – March 6 | 2 wk before |
| 🥬 Swiss Chard | Set out | February 15 – March 6 | 2 wk before |
| 🌿 Dill | Direct sow | February 22 – March 13 | 1 wk before |
| 🫘 Bush Beans | Direct sow | March 8 – March 27 | 1 wk after |
| 🥒 Cucumbers | Set out | March 8 – March 27 | 1 wk after |
| 🎃 Pumpkins | Direct sow | March 8 – March 27 | 1 wk after |
| 🎃 Pumpkins | Set out | March 8 – March 27 | 1 wk after |
| 🎃 Summer Squash | Direct sow | March 8 – March 27 | 1 wk after |
| 🎃 Summer Squash | Set out | March 8 – March 27 | 1 wk after |
| 🌽 Sweet Corn | Direct sow | March 8 – March 27 | 1 wk after |
| 🍅 Tomatoes | Set out | March 8 – March 27 | 1 wk after |
| 🎃 Winter Squash | Direct sow | March 8 – March 27 | 1 wk after |
| 🎃 Winter Squash | Set out | March 8 – March 27 | 1 wk after |
| 🥒 Zucchini | Direct sow | March 8 – March 27 | 1 wk after |
| 🥒 Zucchini | Set out | March 8 – March 27 | 1 wk after |
| 🥒 Cucumbers | Direct sow | March 15 – April 3 | 2 wk after |
| 🌶️ Okra | Direct sow | March 15 – April 3 | 2 wk after |
| 🌶️ Okra | Set out | March 15 – April 3 | 2 wk after |
| 🌶️ Peppers | Set out | March 15 – April 3 | 2 wk after |
| 🫘 Southern Peas | Direct sow | March 15 – April 3 | 2 wk after |
| 🍠 Sweet Potato | Set out | March 15 – April 3 | 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 lives through a zone 9a winter
Of 74 perennial edibles, 46 come through a zone 9a winter — and 25 fail here for being too warm rather than too cold, needing more winter chill than this parish gets or more heat than they tolerate. Among the ones that work: Elderberry, Horseradish, Sunchoke, Walking Onion, Chives, Mint, American Persimmon, European Plum.
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.
Cautious — shortens the seasonMedian across stationsOptimistic
- Last spring freeze
- Plan to April 12 to be careful. Median March 1 – March 20 across 6 stations; January 31 is the optimistic end.
- First fall freeze
- Plan to October 26 to be careful. Median November 9 – November 27 across 6 stations; December 20 is the optimistic end.
NOAA publishes these as probabilities, not averages — the middle figure is a median, so half of years fall either side of it. The cautious end is the 10% tail: in roughly nine years in ten the freeze falls on the safe side of it.
The 6 stations behind these numbers
All 6 NOAA stations whose normals this page quotes, spanning about 58 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 parish.
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 parish'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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elizabeth, LA | USC00162800 | March 3 | November 25 | 268 days |
| Ft Polk Fullerton Lndg Strip, LA | USW00053988 | March 1 | November 23 | 268 days |
| Hodges Gardens, LA | USC00164288 | March 3 | November 27 | 267 days |
| Leesville, LA | USC00165266 | March 20 | November 9 | 234 days |
| Rosepine Rsch Stn, LA | USC00168046 | March 8 | November 21 | 259 days |
| Toledo Bend Dam, TX | USC00419068 | March 9 | November 18 | 253 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 parish. Every tool below answers for one ZIP code, which is the grain the underlying data is published at.
Other places to compare
Vernon Parish sits in Louisiana. That page carries the whole state's zone spread, its metro areas, and every other parish in it with a page here.
More of Louisiana
- Catahoula Parish, LA 8b–9a
- Natchitoches Parish, LA 8b–9a
Counties with the same zones — 9a
Matched on the exact zone set, not a dominant zone, so the winter answer on these pages really is the same one as here.
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.
- Shade clothSummer highs here average 92 °F, at or above the 90 °F point where lettuce and spinach bolt and tomato pollen fails.
- 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.
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 parish: 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.