What Grows in Navy Yard City, Washington

USDA Zones 9a · 393 acres

Navy Yard City, Washington, sits in USDA hardiness zone 9a — enough range to grow cool-season vegetables, hardy fruit, and warm-season crops that mature before the first hard frost.

Among the crops suited to this profile: artichoke, fig, california poppy, and cabbage. The site-level story — soil, sun, drainage — decides the rest.

Score your parcel · free

Even in Navy Yard City, 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 Navy Yard City 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 Navy Yard City — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.

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Navy Yard City — the short answer

Navy Yard City, Washington: USDA zone 9a, about 285 days between hard freezes, across 393 acres of town.

USDA zone
9a
USDA PHZM 2023
Last hard freeze (28°F)
Feb 15
Kitsap County normal — NOAA 1991–2020, nearest to this town
First hard freeze (28°F)
Nov 27
Kitsap County normal — NOAA 1991–2020, nearest to this town
Days between freezes
~285
Kitsap County normal — NOAA 1991–2020, nearest to this town
Town area
393 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 Kitsap 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 Navy Yard City's average, not your lot's — a low corner or a tree line moves it. Against Navy Yard City's 285-day season, see what your own ground reads.

Soil varies lot by lot — soil types explained.

What this means for growing in Navy Yard City

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

Season length

From county records

Navy Yard City runs about 285 days between hard freezes (read from Kitsap County, the closest normal to Navy Yard City) — 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

Navy Yard City 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 Navy Yard City is in

Navy Yard City sits in the Puget Lowland — EPA Level III, inside the wider Marine West Coast Forest. That is read at Navy Yard City's own centroid rather than borrowed from Kitsap County.

What that means for soil

What Grows in Navy Yard City

Every plant below cleared Navy Yard City's own zone 9a and its 285-day season. Each card opens that plant's Washington profile. How we score.

artichoke, photograph
Growing artichoke in WashingtonZones 7–11Navy Yard City's 9a — 2 zones of cold margin.
fig, photograph
Washington fig guideZones 6–10Navy Yard City's 9a — 3 zones of cold margin.
California poppy, photograph
California poppy in WashingtonZones 6–10Navy Yard City's 9a — 3 zones of cold margin.
cabbage, photograph
Cabbage: Washington growing notesZones 2–11Navy Yard City's 9a — 7 zones of cold margin.
Meyer lemon, photograph
Growing meyer lemon in WashingtonZones 9–11Navy Yard City's 9a is its exact cold limit.
rosemary, photograph
Washington rosemary guideZones 8–10Navy Yard City's 9a — 1 zone of cold margin.
collard greens, photograph
Collard greens in WashingtonZones 2–11Navy Yard City's 9a — 7 zones of cold margin.
avocado, photograph
Avocado: Washington growing notesZones 9–11Navy Yard City's 9a is its exact cold limit.
Turkish rocket, photograph
Growing turkish rocket in WashingtonNavy Yard City's 285 days clear the ~90 it needs.
kale, photograph
Washington kale guideZones 2–11Navy Yard City's 9a — 7 zones of cold margin.
lentil, photograph
Lentil in WashingtonZones 2–11Navy Yard City's 285 days clear the ~70 it needs.
okra, photograph
Okra: Washington growing notesZones 2–12Navy Yard City's 285 days clear the ~50 it needs.
potato, photograph
Growing potato in WashingtonZones 2–11Navy Yard City's 9a — 7 zones of cold margin.
pumpkin, photograph
Washington pumpkin guideZones 3–11Navy Yard City's 285 days clear the ~40 it needs.
sweet corn, photograph
Sweet corn in WashingtonZones 2–11Navy Yard City's 285 days clear the ~65 it needs.
iris, photograph
Iris: Washington growing notesZones 3–10Navy Yard City's 9a — 6 zones of cold margin.
sunflower, photograph
Growing sunflower in WashingtonZones 2–11Navy Yard City's 285 days clear the ~70 it needs.
Apache plume, photograph
Washington apache plume guideZones 5–11Navy Yard City's 9a — 4 zones of cold margin.
scarlet runner bean, photograph
Scarlet runner bean in WashingtonZones 7–11Navy Yard City's 9a — 2 zones of cold margin.
barrel cactus, photograph
Barrel cactus: Washington growing notesZones 5–11Navy Yard City's 9a — 4 zones of cold margin.
French marigold, photograph
Growing french marigold in WashingtonNavy Yard City's 285 days clear the ~50 it needs.
holly, photograph
Washington holly guideZones 5–11Navy Yard City's 9a — 4 zones of cold margin.
Carolina jessamine, photograph
Carolina jessamine in WashingtonZones 7–10Navy Yard City's 9a — 2 zones of cold margin.
mountain laurel, photograph
Mountain laurel: Washington growing notesZones 5–11Navy Yard City's 9a — 4 zones of cold margin.
redbud, photograph
Growing redbud in WashingtonZones 5–11Navy Yard City's 9a — 4 zones of cold margin.
crab grass, photograph
Washington crab grass guideZones 7–11Navy Yard City's 9a — 2 zones of cold margin.
ajuga, photograph
Ajuga in WashingtonZones 5–11Navy Yard City's 9a — 4 zones of cold margin.
Douglas fir, photograph
Douglas fir: Washington growing notesZones 4–10Navy Yard City's 9a — 5 zones of cold margin.
feather top Rhodes grass, photograph
Growing feather top rhodes grass in WashingtonZones 7–11Navy Yard City's 285 days clear the ~90 it needs.
liriope, photograph
Washington liriope guideZones 5–11Navy Yard City's 9a — 4 zones of cold margin.

Is it too late to plant in Navy Yard City?

Too late for some crops, right on time for others — a growing season is a sequence, not a deadline. Cool-season crops can go in from around Jan 18; tender transplants wait until two to three weeks after the last 28°F hard freeze, which lands near Feb 15 (NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals); and from midsummer, planting counts back from the first fall freeze around Nov 27 — long-season crops need about 90 days of runway, quick greens only 30. Here the calendar nearly circles: cool-season crops take the winter shift, and the next window is always close.

What's on the federal record near Navy Yard City

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

  1. CHARLSTON BEACH BPUnderground Storage Tanks · 800 ft
  2. MARY MORE ESTATEUnderground Storage Tanks · 950 ft
  3. WA DOT PARCEL 308389 SR 304Underground Storage Tanks · 1200 ft
  4. JACKPOT STATION 362Underground Storage Tanks · 2000 ft
  5. AFFORDABLE USED CARSUnderground Storage Tanks · 2100 ft
  6. UNOCAL 0606Underground Storage Tanks · 2600 ft
  7. A-1 AUTO SALESUnderground Storage Tanks · 2600 ft
  8. WEST HILLS FORDBrownfields · 0.5 mi
  9. KITSAP DETAILUnderground Storage Tanks · 0.5 mi
  10. FISCHLER PROPERTYUnderground Storage Tanks · 0.5 mi
  11. P & R QUICKSTOPUnderground Storage Tanks · 0.5 mi
  12. BREMERTON BOTTLING COUnderground Storage Tanks · 0.6 mi

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

Measured from Navy Yard City'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 Navy Yard City.

Total Sites

728

within ~10 miles of Navy Yard City

Risk Level

High

Highest-severity

16 Superfund sites

Severity Distribution

within ~10 miles of Navy Yard City

High8Moderate327Low393

Highest-Severity Sites

Bremerton City of
PFAS Sampling · PFAS Detected
Eagle Harbor Wyckoff
Superfund · Superfund NPL
Jackson Park Housing Complex (Usnavy)
Superfund · Superfund NPL

A note from Gnorman

What an experienced grower watches for around here

In and around Navy Yard City, two things run higher than the national average within ~10 miles of Navy Yard City — Superfund (16 sites) and PFAS (10 sites). Knowing it is half the work — and it's nothing a thoughtful grower can't plan for.

Superfund: Superfund sites represent the most severe contamination in the federal system.

PFAS: PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) are called "forever chemicals" because they do not biodegrade.

Commission professional soil testing before any food production (test for heavy metals, VOCs, and SVOCs).

Test irrigation water source — this is the primary pathway for PFAS to reach garden crops.

Free Report

Check your specific parcel in Navy Yard City

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 Navy Yard City average

Your land is one point inside Navy Yard City

Everything above resolves to Navy Yard City as a whole — one PHZM band, read across 393 acres, with hard-freeze dates borrowed from Kitsap County’s record because no 30-year normal resolves at this town’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 town 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 Navy Yard City Average

Navy Yard City Average

  • USDA Zones 9a, averaged across Navy Yard City
  • One soil character for all of Navy Yard City
  • Frost dates read at Navy Yard City's scale: Feb 15 to Nov 27

YOUR Parcel

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

See MY Growing Report

Free Report

Read your specific parcel in Navy Yard City

Pull a site-specific report for your exact address in Navy Yard City, Washington — soil, sun, drainage, frost risk, and scored plant recommendations.

Three things about your lot that Navy Yard City averages can't show:

Your soil pHYour frost-free days — Navy Yard City averages 285Your sun & shade

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

25+ data sources read at your address, not the Navy Yard City average

How we know this about Navy Yard City

The datasets: hardiness from the USDA ARS Plant Hardiness Zone Map 2023, read at this town’s own centroid; hard-freeze dates from NOAA 1991–2020 28°F normals at Kitsap 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 town grain anywhere on this page — there is no town-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 Navy Yard City

When does frost risk typically end in Navy Yard City?

The last hard freeze (28°F) in Navy Yard City typically lands around Feb 15, 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 8.

When is the first frost in Navy Yard City?

The first hard freeze (28°F) in Navy Yard City typically arrives around Nov 27, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals — the point tender summer crops finish. Lighter frosts run ahead of it, near Nov 13, so the watching starts about Oct 28 — about 285 days after the spring freeze cleared.

How long is the growing season in Navy Yard City?

Measured between 28°F hard freezes, Navy Yard City sees about 285 frost-free days — roughly Feb 15 through Nov 27, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals. Tender crops work a shorter one: nearer Mar 8 to Nov 13, about 250 days.

Is the soil safe to grow vegetables in Navy Yard City?

The federal record around Navy Yard City runs heavier than most — 728 documented sites, mostly Underground Storage Tanks entries (368), the nearest Underground Storage Tanks record about 0.1 miles out — so test the soil before planting food in the ground, and raised beds with clean imported soil grow well in the meantime. Even here, proximity to a documented site is information, not a diagnosis of any one yard; the contamination map shows exactly what's recorded and where.

How do I protect my plants from frost in Navy Yard City?

From about Oct 28 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 27 (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 27. Hardy greens and roots shrug off light frost and sweeten after it — leave them in.

Everything above is measured at Navy Yard City's scale — its 9a band and its 285-day season. Your yard writes its own version of Navy Yard City'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 Navy Yard City’s own scale

5 of the readings below were taken at Navy Yard City's own scale — the 393 acres it covers and 728 documented sites around it; 5 are borrowed from a wider read, named and linked below.

Measured here

  • Navy Yard City's own USDA hardiness band, zones 9aUSDA PHZM 2023
  • 728 documented contamination sites on the federal record near Navy Yard City, the closest Underground Storage Tanks record about 0.1 miles out from the town centreFederal environmental registers
  • Navy Yard City's boundary and the 393 acres inside itUS Census TIGER/Line 2025
  • Which of 1,086 plants clear zones 9a and a ~285-day seasonGrowable Ground crop-matching engine
  • The ecoregion at Navy Yard City's own centroid, the Puget LowlandUS EPA Level III Ecoregions

Inherited from a wider read

  • The 28°F hard-freeze dates — Navy Yard City has no normal of its own, so its county's is the closest measured readfrom Kitsap County
  • Soil character — no town-scale survey exists, so Navy Yard City's 393 acres read through its county's SSURGO summaryfrom Kitsap County
  • Growing-degree days and winter chill — measured county-wide only, so the county page carries themfrom Kitsap County
  • The growing challenges every Washington grower plans around — written at state scale, so they stay on the state guidefrom Washington
  • Butterfly and beetle records, and the farmland pesticide estimate — all published county-widefrom Kitsap County

What this page can’t tell you

  • The soil pH, drainage, sun hours, and frost pockets on any one lot among Navy Yard City's 393 acreswhy one lot differs from the next
  • Which side of Navy Yard City you're on — a low spot frosts first and a south wall warms early, and one normal is being asked to speak for all 393 acresreading your own microclimate
  • How close that record sits to YOUR lot — the closest Underground Storage Tanks record about 0.1 miles 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 Navy Yard City-wide figureread your own land
The next step finer is your own address