Gardening in Vancouver
British Columbia · Pacific Maritime · hardiness zone 8a
Now
19°C · Overcast
Today
19° / 13°
Soil 6 cm
15°C
First frost
~60 days (Nov 13)
The kindest day for transplanting there is, and the safest for sowing.
In the garden now · September
Who else is working the garden
The insects and soil life out near Vancouver, British Columbia in September. Most of them are on your side — learn the few that aren't before you reach for anything.
PollinatorMar–OctHoney bee
Apis mellifera
Golden-brown, banded, furry thorax, and pollen packed onto the hind legs in visible baskets.
What it does in the garden →
PollinatorMar–OctBumble bees
Bombus spp.
Big, round and very furry, in black with yellow, orange or white bands.
Writing your field guide — reading the forecast, the moon and the map…
Overhead · Vancouver, British Columbia
The sky over the garden
The two clocks nothing on the ground can argue with: the length of the day, and the phase of the moon.
The sun
12h 37m of light
Sunrise
06:49
Solar noon
13:07
Sunset
19:26
A month from now the day will be 1h 48m shorter. Enough light for steady growth.
Right now · Vancouver, British Columbia
Forces at work
Nothing here is a guess. Each of these is read from this week's forecast and this location's climate record, and each one is pushing the season one way or the other.
- Quiet right now
Frost
229 frost-free days
Typically Mar 29 to Nov 13 here. Coldest night in the next week: 11.6 °C.
The hard edge of the growing season. Ice inside a leaf ruptures its cells — one night ends a tomato and sweetens a parsnip.
- Working for you
Soil warmth
15.2 °C
Good for brassicas, beets, chard, carrots and potatoes. Wait on the heat crops.
Seeds read soil temperature, not the calendar. Six centimetres down is where the decision gets made.
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