What planting zone is Santa Barbara, CA?

Santa Barbara is in USDA plant hardiness zone 10b (average annual extreme minimum temperature 35 to 40°F), from the 2023 USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map.

What is the weather like in Santa Barbara?

In Santa Barbara, CA the warmest month is August (avg high 77.7°F) and the coldest is December (avg low 46.1°F). It averages about 19″ of precipitation a year.

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Santa Barbara, CA Planting Calendar & Frost Dates

USDA hardiness zone 10b · ZIP 93109 · elevation 5′ · NOAA & USDA data

Santa Barbara sits in USDA zone 10b and is effectively frost-free — you can grow something outdoors year-round. The warmest month is August (avg high 77.7°F) and the coolest is December (avg low 46.1°F). Time plantings by the hot vs. cool season rather than by frost: grow heat-loving crops through the warm months and cool-season greens in the mild winter. The wettest month is January (4.4″).

Hardiness zone

10b

min temp 35 to 40°F

Frost

Frost-free

grow year-round

Warmest month

August

avg high 77.7°F

Month-by-month typical weather in Santa Barbara

Average conditions from the NOAA/NCEI 1991–2020 U.S. Climate Normals at Santa Barbara, CA (2.5 mi away). Temperatures °F, precipitation & snow in inches.

Month	Avg high	Avg low	Mean	Precip (in)
January	66.8	46.5	56.6	4.4
February	66.9	47.3	57.1	4.4
March	68.3	49.4	58.8	3.2
April	71	51.4	61.2	1
May	71.6	54.3	63	0.4
June	73	57.3	65.1	0.1
July	76.4	60.2	68.3	0
August	77.7	60.3	69	0
September	77.7	59.5	68.6	0.1
October	75.7	56	65.8	0.8
November	71	50.2	60.6	1.4
December	66.2	46.1	56.2	3.1

What to plant when in Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara is frost-free, so there's no last-frost date to time from. Grow cool-season crops (lettuce, peas, broccoli, carrots) in the cooler months and warm-season crops (tomatoes, peppers, beans, squash) through the warm season.

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Gear that helps you plant on time

Some links below are Amazon affiliate links (tag theboringthin-20). If you buy through them we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you — it keeps this almanac free. We only list generic, genuinely-useful categories.

Soil thermometer →Know when the ground is warm enough to sow — the honest signal, not the calendar.Seed-starting trays + dome →Start tomatoes & peppers indoors on the schedule below.Seedling heat mat →Warms the soil for faster, more even germination indoors.Floating row cover / frost cloth →Buys you 4–8°F to beat an early or late frost.Raised garden bed kit →Warms and drains faster in spring than in-ground soil.Garden gloves →Basic kit for transplant day.

Nearby cities in California

Oxnard, CA Camarillo, CA Thousand Oaks, CA Lompoc, CA Santa Maria, CA Simi Valley, CA Santa Clarita, CA Bakersfield, CA

Sources & method. Hardiness zone: 2023 USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map (PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University). Frost dates & growing season: NOAA/NCEI 1991–2020 U.S. Climate Normals, nearest station with published freeze normals — Santa Barbara, CA, 2.5 mi (confidence: high). Monthly weather normals: Santa Barbara, CA, 2.5 mi (confidence: high). ZIP centroid from U.S. Census 2023 ZCTA data. Frost dates are the 50%-probability date — half of years frost occurs outside the stated date. Nothing here is invented; where the nearest station is far, we say so. Last updated 2026-07-22.