What Grows in Tillamook, Oregon

USDA Zones 9a · 1K acres

Tillamook, Oregon, sits in USDA hardiness zone 9a — a band that supports both cool-season staples and warm-season crops chosen to fit the local frost window.

Expect artichoke, fig, california poppy, and cabbage to be strong candidates here; the deciding factors on any one parcel stay local — soil, sun, and drainage.

Score your parcel · free

Even in Tillamook, no two yards are alike.

A low spot, a south-facing slope, or a stand of trees moves the frost date and sun across a single Tillamook lot. Enter your address and we'll score 1,086 plants against your land's actual soil, sun, and frost.

We read public map data around Tillamook — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.

No card required · your full report in seconds

Tillamook — the short answer

Tillamook, Oregon: USDA zone 9a, about 289 days between hard freezes, across 1K acres of city.

USDA zone
9a
USDA PHZM 2023
Last hard freeze (28°F)
Feb 13
Tillamook County normal — NOAA 1991–2020, nearest to this town
First hard freeze (28°F)
Nov 29
Tillamook County normal — NOAA 1991–2020, nearest to this town
Days between freezes
~289
Tillamook County normal — NOAA 1991–2020, nearest to this town
City area
1K acres
US Census TIGER/Line 2025

Every figure names the dataset it came from. No 30-year normal resolves at this town’s own centroid, so the hard-freeze dates are Tillamook County’s — the closest measured record, labelled as such rather than passed off as local.

Hardiness Zone Range

9a9a
3a (Cold)13b (Hot)

Zone 9a is Tillamook's average, not your lot's — a low corner or a tree line moves it. Against Tillamook's 289-day season, see what your own ground reads.

Soil varies lot by lot — soil types explained.

What this means for growing in Tillamook

Each reading below is measured for Tillamook itself — here is what it means for a garden here, and the move an experienced grower makes about it.

Season length

From county records

Tillamook runs about 289 days between hard freezes (read from Tillamook County, the closest normal to Tillamook) — close to year-round growing.

Frost is rarely the limit here; winter plantings are as real as summer ones, and the harder question is which crops shrug off the summer heat.

Grow cool-season crops through the mild winter, and choose heat-tolerant varieties for the summer beds.

NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals

Winter hardiness

Measured

Tillamook sits in USDA hardiness zone 9a.

The zone sets which perennials, shrubs, and fruit trees live through an average winter here — a plant rated for a colder zone is a safe bet, one rated warmer needs winter protection or gets treated as an annual.

Match perennials and fruit to the zone before you buy, so nothing you plant is a gamble against the cold.

USDA PHZM 2023

The kind of country Tillamook is in

Tillamook sits in the Coast Range — EPA Level III, inside the wider Marine West Coast Forest. That is read at Tillamook's own centroid rather than borrowed from Tillamook County.

What that means for soil

What Grows in Tillamook

Every plant below cleared Tillamook's own zone 9a and its 289-day season. Each card opens that plant's Oregon profile. How we score.

artichoke, photograph
Growing artichoke in OregonZones 7–11Tillamook's 9a — 2 zones of cold margin.
fig, photograph
Oregon fig guideZones 6–10Tillamook's 9a — 3 zones of cold margin.
California poppy, photograph
California poppy in OregonZones 6–10Tillamook's 9a — 3 zones of cold margin.
cabbage, photograph
Cabbage: Oregon growing notesZones 2–11Tillamook's 9a — 7 zones of cold margin.
Meyer lemon, photograph
Growing meyer lemon in OregonZones 9–11Tillamook's 9a is its exact cold limit.
rosemary, photograph
Oregon rosemary guideZones 8–10Tillamook's 9a — 1 zone of cold margin.
collard greens, photograph
Collard greens in OregonZones 2–11Tillamook's 9a — 7 zones of cold margin.
avocado, photograph
Avocado: Oregon growing notesZones 9–11Tillamook's 9a is its exact cold limit.
Turkish rocket, photograph
Growing turkish rocket in OregonTillamook's 289 days clear the ~90 it needs.
kale, photograph
Oregon kale guideZones 2–11Tillamook's 9a — 7 zones of cold margin.
lentil, photograph
Lentil in OregonZones 2–11Tillamook's 289 days clear the ~70 it needs.
okra, photograph
Okra: Oregon growing notesZones 2–12Tillamook's 289 days clear the ~50 it needs.
potato, photograph
Growing potato in OregonZones 2–11Tillamook's 9a — 7 zones of cold margin.
pumpkin, photograph
Oregon pumpkin guideZones 3–11Tillamook's 289 days clear the ~40 it needs.
sweet corn, photograph
Sweet corn in OregonZones 2–11Tillamook's 289 days clear the ~65 it needs.
iris, photograph
Iris: Oregon growing notesZones 3–10Tillamook's 9a — 6 zones of cold margin.
sunflower, photograph
Growing sunflower in OregonZones 2–11Tillamook's 289 days clear the ~70 it needs.
Apache plume, photograph
Oregon apache plume guideZones 5–11Tillamook's 9a — 4 zones of cold margin.
scarlet runner bean, photograph
Scarlet runner bean in OregonZones 7–11Tillamook's 9a — 2 zones of cold margin.
barrel cactus, photograph
Barrel cactus: Oregon growing notesZones 5–11Tillamook's 9a — 4 zones of cold margin.
French marigold, photograph
Growing french marigold in OregonTillamook's 289 days clear the ~50 it needs.
holly, photograph
Oregon holly guideZones 5–11Tillamook's 9a — 4 zones of cold margin.
Carolina jessamine, photograph
Carolina jessamine in OregonZones 7–10Tillamook's 9a — 2 zones of cold margin.
mountain laurel, photograph
Mountain laurel: Oregon growing notesZones 5–11Tillamook's 9a — 4 zones of cold margin.
redbud, photograph
Growing redbud in OregonZones 5–11Tillamook's 9a — 4 zones of cold margin.
crab grass, photograph
Oregon crab grass guideZones 7–11Tillamook's 9a — 2 zones of cold margin.
ajuga, photograph
Ajuga in OregonZones 5–11Tillamook's 9a — 4 zones of cold margin.
Douglas fir, photograph
Douglas fir: Oregon growing notesZones 4–10Tillamook's 9a — 5 zones of cold margin.
feather top Rhodes grass, photograph
Growing feather top rhodes grass in OregonZones 7–11Tillamook's 289 days clear the ~90 it needs.
liriope, photograph
Oregon liriope guideZones 5–11Tillamook's 9a — 4 zones of cold margin.

Is it too late to plant in Tillamook?

Rarely: the season closes in stages, not all at once, and each stage has its crops. Cool-season crops can go in from around Jan 16; tender transplants wait until two to three weeks after the last 28°F hard freeze, which lands near Feb 13 (NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals); and from midsummer, planting counts back from the first fall freeze around Nov 29 — long-season crops need about 90 days of runway, quick greens only 30. With almost year-round growing weather, timing is about heat and rainfall more than frost — some bench is always in play.

What's on the federal record near Tillamook

Closest first, within ~10 miles of Tillamook. Listing isn't leaking, and distance isn't exposure.

  1. SHELDON OIL COMPANYUnderground Storage Tanks · 75 ft
  2. CARSON OIL TILLAMOOKUnderground Storage Tanks · 200 ft
  3. SHELDON OIL COBrownfields · 200 ft
  4. T P FREIGHT LINES INCBrownfields · 350 ft
  5. PACIFIC COAST PRESSUnderground Storage Tanks · 450 ft
  6. T P FREIGHT LINES, INC.Underground Storage Tanks · 450 ft
  7. TILLAMOOK LUMBER CO.Underground Storage Tanks · 550 ft
  8. MISTY MEADOWS DAIRYCAFO · 800 ft
  9. HAMPTON LUMBER MILLS, INC. TILLAMOOK LUMBER CO.Toxics Release Inventory · 800 ft
  10. SPRINT/UNITED TELEPHONEUnderground Storage Tanks · 900 ft
  11. C.E. LEWIS TV & APPLIANCEUnderground Storage Tanks · 1100 ft
  12. OR STATE HWY, 2-1 TILLAMOOKUnderground Storage Tanks · 1200 ft

6 more sites are on the record inside the same radius. See them on the map

Measured from Tillamook's center, not your beds. Run your own address for what's upwind of you specifically.

Environmental Intelligence

The counts behind that headline — every source type on the record near Tillamook.

Total Sites

142

within ~10 miles of Tillamook

Risk Level

Elevated

Highest-severity

1 Superfund site (none NPL-listed)

Severity Distribution

within ~10 miles of Tillamook

High0Moderate17Low125

Highest-Severity Sites

Chs Nutrition Tillamook
Toxics Release Inventory · 9714wchsnt62bli
Dairy Farmers
Toxics Release Inventory · TRI_Offsite_565
Fred Meyer Gas
Underground Storage Tanks · Open UST(S)
Garibaldi Bait & Outdoors
Underground Storage Tanks · Open UST(S)
Garibaldi Shell & Grocery
Underground Storage Tanks · Open UST(S)

A note from Gnorman

What an experienced grower watches for around here

In and around Tillamook, CAFO runs higher than the national average — 36 sites within ~10 miles of Tillamook. It's not cause for alarm — it's worth knowing, and there's a sensible way to grow around it.

CAFO: CAFOs pose a different contamination profile than chemical sources.

Wash all produce consumed raw thoroughly, especially leafy greens grown near CAFOs.

Free Report

Check your specific parcel in Tillamook

Get exact proximity distances to contamination sources for your specific parcel — plus soil, sun, drainage, and 1,086 plant recommendations.

25+ data sources read at your address, not the Tillamook average

Your land is one point inside Tillamook

Everything above resolves to Tillamook as a whole — one PHZM band, read across 1K acres, with hard-freeze dates borrowed from Tillamook County’s record because no 30-year normal resolves at this city’s own centroid. Your parcel is one point inside that footprint. Slope, tree cover, a low spot that pools cold air, and what is in the soil are all resolved at the address, and none of them are visible at city scale. That is the honest boundary of this page, and the reason the next step is a reading of your own ground rather than a better local average.

Your Lot vs the Tillamook Average

Tillamook Average

  • USDA Zones 9a, averaged across Tillamook
  • One soil character for all of Tillamook
  • Frost dates read at Tillamook's scale: Feb 13 to Nov 29

YOUR Parcel

  • Your exact zone, not Tillamook's 9a
  • Your SSURGO soil type & pH
  • Your sun exposure, cast in 3D

See MY Growing Report

Free Report

Read your specific parcel in Tillamook

Pull a site-specific report for your exact address in Tillamook, Oregon — soil, sun, drainage, frost risk, and scored plant recommendations.

Three things about your lot that Tillamook averages can't show:

Your soil pHYour frost-free days — Tillamook averages 289Your sun & shade

We read public map data around Tillamook — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.

25+ data sources read at your address, not the Tillamook average

How we know this about Tillamook

The datasets: hardiness from the USDA ARS Plant Hardiness Zone Map 2023, read at this city’s own centroid; hard-freeze dates from NOAA 1991–2020 28°F normals at Tillamook County’s record, because none resolves here; boundaries and acreage from US Census TIGER/Line 2025; the contamination records from the federal sources named in their beats above. Soil is not read at city grain anywhere on this page — there is no city-resolution survey in our data, which is why you will find no soil grid here rather than a statewide one wearing a local label. The resolution ledger below names every figure this page inherited.

Common questions about Tillamook

When does frost risk typically end in Tillamook?

The last hard freeze (28°F) in Tillamook typically lands around Feb 13, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals — earlier than the light-frost dates most charts quote. That marks the hard freeze, not the last light frost — lighter frosts keep biting past it, which is why tender transplants here wait until about Mar 6.

When is the first frost in Tillamook?

The first hard freeze (28°F) in Tillamook typically arrives around Nov 29, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals — the point tender summer crops finish. Lighter frosts run ahead of it, near Nov 15, so the watching starts about Oct 30 — about 289 days after the spring freeze cleared.

How long is the growing season in Tillamook?

Measured between 28°F hard freezes, Tillamook sees about 289 frost-free days — roughly Feb 13 through Nov 29, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals. Tender crops work a shorter one: nearer Mar 6 to Nov 15, about 254 days.

Is the soil safe to grow vegetables in Tillamook?

The federal record around Tillamook is a meaningful one — 142 documented sites, mostly Underground Storage Tanks entries (78), the nearest Underground Storage Tanks record under a tenth of a mile out — so a soil test before new food beds is a sensible precaution here, not a reason to hold back from growing. Remember that proximity to a documented site is information, not a diagnosis of any one yard; the contamination map shows exactly what sits where.

How do I protect my plants from frost in Tillamook?

From about Oct 30 the job here turns from planting to protecting — the last start even a 30-day crop can finish. As the season closes around the first 28°F hard freeze near Nov 29 (NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals), three moves buy time: row cover or an old sheet over tender plants on still, clear nights; water the soil the afternoon before a freeze, so it holds warmth overnight; and harvest tomatoes, peppers and basil before Nov 29. Hardy greens and roots shrug off light frost and sweeten after it — leave them in.

Everything above is measured at Tillamook's scale — its 9a band and its 289-day season. Your yard writes its own version of Tillamook's numbers: we read soil, sun, drainage and frost at your exact address. Try it for 14 days — no card required.

What this page reads at Tillamook’s own scale

5 of the readings below were taken at Tillamook's own scale — the 1,219 acres it covers and 142 documented sites around it; 5 are borrowed from a wider read, named and linked below.

Measured here

  • Tillamook's own USDA hardiness band, zones 9aUSDA PHZM 2023
  • 142 documented contamination sites on the federal record near Tillamook, the closest Underground Storage Tanks record under a tenth of a mile out from the town centreFederal environmental registers
  • Tillamook's boundary and the 1,219 acres inside itUS Census TIGER/Line 2025
  • Which of 1,086 plants clear zones 9a and a ~289-day seasonGrowable Ground crop-matching engine
  • The ecoregion at Tillamook's own centroid, the Coast RangeUS EPA Level III Ecoregions

Inherited from a wider read

  • The 28°F hard-freeze dates — Tillamook has no normal of its own, so its county's is the closest measured readfrom Tillamook County
  • Soil character — no town-scale survey exists, so Tillamook's 1,219 acres read through its county's SSURGO summaryfrom Tillamook County
  • Growing-degree days and winter chill — measured county-wide only, so the county page carries themfrom Tillamook County
  • The growing challenges every Oregon grower plans around — written at state scale, so they stay on the state guidefrom Oregon
  • Butterfly and beetle records, and the farmland pesticide estimate — all published county-widefrom Tillamook County

What this page can’t tell you

  • The soil pH, drainage, sun hours, and frost pockets on any one lot among Tillamook's 1,219 acreswhy one lot differs from the next
  • Which side of Tillamook you're on — a low spot frosts first and a south wall warms early, and one normal is being asked to speak for all 1,219 acresreading your own microclimate
  • How close that record sits to YOUR lot — the closest Underground Storage Tanks record under a tenth of a mile out, measured from the town centrehow we read the record
  • Where cold air settles, which slopes face the sun, and which way the wind runs on your own ground — measured at your address, and averaged away by any Tillamook-wide figureread your own land
The next step finer is your own address