What Grows in Port O'Connor, Texas

The last hard freeze (28°F) in Port O'Connor typically lands around Jan 28, 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 Feb 18.

The first hard freeze (28°F) in Port O'Connor typically arrives around Dec 18, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals — the point tender summer crops finish. Lighter frosts run ahead of it, near Dec 4, so the watching starts about Nov 18 — about 324 days after the spring freeze cleared.

Measured between 28°F hard freezes, Port O'Connor sees about 324 frost-free days — roughly Jan 28 through Dec 18, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals. Tender crops work a shorter one: nearer Feb 18 to Dec 4, about 289 days.

The federal record around Port O'Connor is light — 8 documented sites across the 9 federal source types we checked, mostly Underground Storage Tanks entries (5), the nearest Underground Storage Tanks record about 0.2 miles out — and proximity to a documented site is information, not a diagnosis of any one yard. Growing food here starts from a strong position; a soil test before new food beds settles any site-specific question.

From about Nov 18 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 Dec 18 (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 Dec 18. Hardy greens and roots shrug off light frost and sweeten after it — leave them in.