When to plant in Bedford, NS

Planting dates worked out from Bedford's own frost records, not a generic zone chart.

Safe to plant out

Jun 3

1 year in 10 has a later frost

Average last frost

May 22

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Oct 5

1 year in 10 by Sep 22

Frost-free days

131

median, 1991–2020

Station used: St Margaret's Bay · 18.6 km away · station 17 m, town 25 m. How we match towns to stations

This season

Plan your garden.

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Planting dates for common crops

Crop	Start indoors	Plant out or sow	Harvest from
Tomato	Apr 8 – Apr 22	Jun 3 – Jun 17	Jul 28
Sweet pepper	Mar 25 – Apr 8	Jun 3 – Jun 17	Aug 2
Lettuce (leaf)	Mar 20 – Mar 27	Apr 24 – May 8	Jun 3
Peas	—	Apr 24 – May 22	Jun 18
Bush beans	—	May 27 – Jun 17	Jul 16
Carrot	—	May 5 – Jun 16	Jul 4
Beet	—	May 5 – Jun 16	Jun 24
Potato	—	May 5 – May 26	Jul 14
Kale	Mar 20 – Apr 3	May 1 – May 15	Jun 13
Broccoli	Mar 13 – Mar 27	Apr 24 – May 15	Jun 23
Cucumber	May 6 – May 13	Jun 3 – Jun 17	Jul 23
Summer squash and zucchini	May 6 – May 13	Jun 3 – Jun 17	Jul 18
Winter squash	May 6 – May 13	Jun 3 – Jun 17	Aug 22
Sweet corn	—	May 27 – Jun 17	Jul 26
Onion (from sets)	—	Apr 24 – May 15	Jul 23
Garlic	—	Sep 21 – Oct 19 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Apr 24 – May 22	Jun 1
Basil	Apr 22 – May 6	Jun 3 – Jun 17	Jul 30

Plan all 65 crops for Bedford

Bedford's weather over time

How the growing season has shifted here, year by year, from the station's own records.

Each year's last spring frostLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Last spring frost
1923	Jun 14
1924	Jun 6
1925	May 29
1926	May 21
1927	Jun 8
1928	May 5
1929	May 24
1930	May 30
1931	May 18
1932	Jun 2
1933	Jun 21
1934	Jun 8
1935	May 24
1936	May 27
1937	May 3
1938	May 31
1939	Jun 8
1940	May 11
1941	May 31
1942	Jun 1
1943	May 16
1944	Jun 5
1945	Jun 9
1946	Jun 2
1947	Jun 5
1948	May 20
1949	May 22
1950	May 23
1951	May 19
1952	May 4
1953	Jun 2
1954	May 28
1955	May 14
1956	May 27
1957	May 22
1958	Jun 10
1959	Jun 1
1960	May 1
1961	Jun 8
1962	May 23
1963	Jun 8
1964	May 16
1965	May 27
1966	May 19
1967	May 30
1968	May 28
1969	May 30
1970	Jun 14
1971	Jun 6
1972	May 27
1973	May 28
1974	Jun 7
1975	Jun 10
1976	May 11
1977	May 28
1978	May 24
1979	May 12
1980	May 29
1981	May 21
1982	May 28
1983	May 19
1984	May 17
1985	May 30
1986	May 27
1987	May 26
1988	Jun 11
1989	Apr 30
1990	Jun 1
1991	May 23
1992	May 29
1993	May 18
1994	Jun 5
1995	May 27
1996	May 29
1997	Jun 9
1998	May 20
1999	May 17
2000	May 21
2001	May 25
2002	May 21
2004	Jun 1
2005	May 14
2009	May 14
2011	Apr 23
2013	May 19
2014	May 29
2015	May 25
2016	May 12
2017	Apr 26
2018	Jun 4
2019	May 23
2020	May 25

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1923	47
1924	111
1925	116
1926	127
1927	111
1928	158
1929	120
1930	101
1931	124
1932	121
1933	86
1934	115
1935	123
1936	110
1937	152
1938	127
1939	108
1940	138
1941	111
1942	120
1943	126
1944	120
1945	100
1946	128
1947	106
1948	128
1949	111
1950	117
1951	130
1952	157
1953	113
1954	131
1955	122
1956	117
1957	152
1958	118
1959	104
1960	153
1961	119
1962	121
1963	108
1964	122
1965	95
1966	124
1967	104
1968	147
1969	113
1970	114
1971	112
1972	118
1973	116
1974	115
1975	116
1976	140
1977	148
1978	112
1979	134
1980	118
1981	137
1982	128
1983	144
1984	127
1985	104
1986	110
1987	140
1988	105
1989	147
1990	124
1991	121
1992	118
1993	124
1994	105
1995	120
1996	128
1997	107
1998	126
1999	143
2000	131
2001	135
2002	131
2004	112
2005	159
2009	153
2013	155
2014	144
2015	143
2016	144
2017	169
2018	112
2019	156
2020	162

Each year's average temperature, April to SeptemberLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1922	12.4 °C
1923	11.3 °C
1924	12.2 °C
1925	12.2 °C
1926	11.8 °C
1927	11.8 °C
1928	13.0 °C
1929	12.2 °C
1930	12.5 °C
1931	13.3 °C
1932	12.1 °C
1933	12.1 °C
1934	12.8 °C
1935	12.3 °C
1936	11.7 °C
1937	13.1 °C
1938	12.5 °C
1939	12.1 °C
1940	11.3 °C
1941	11.6 °C
1942	12.7 °C
1943	11.8 °C
1944	12.9 °C
1945	12.5 °C
1946	12.1 °C
1947	12.8 °C
1948	11.9 °C
1949	13.5 °C
1950	12.1 °C
1951	13.6 °C
1952	13.4 °C
1953	13.0 °C
1954	12.5 °C
1955	12.8 °C
1956	11.2 °C
1957	12.1 °C
1958	12.8 °C
1959	12.8 °C
1960	12.9 °C
1961	12.5 °C
1962	11.8 °C
1964	11.4 °C
1965	11.3 °C
1966	11.7 °C
1967	11.8 °C
1968	12.7 °C
1969	12.5 °C
1970	12.5 °C
1971	12.6 °C
1972	12.1 °C
1973	12.5 °C
1974	12.1 °C
1975	12.6 °C
1976	13.2 °C
1977	12.1 °C
1978	11.8 °C
1979	12.8 °C
1980	12.2 °C
1981	12.7 °C
1982	11.7 °C
1983	13.2 °C
1984	13.0 °C
1985	12.2 °C
1986	12.1 °C
1987	12.9 °C
1988	12.3 °C
1989	13.4 °C
1990	13.3 °C
1991	12.8 °C
1992	12.0 °C
1993	12.5 °C
1994	12.7 °C
1995	12.8 °C
1996	13.2 °C
1997	12.4 °C
1998	14.0 °C
1999	15.1 °C
2000	13.3 °C
2001	14.1 °C
2002	12.7 °C
2004	13.1 °C
2005	14.2 °C
2008	13.7 °C
2009	14.1 °C
2011	14.8 °C
2013	14.1 °C
2014	14.4 °C
2015	16.1 °C
2016	14.1 °C
2017	14.3 °C
2018	14.6 °C
2019	14.2 °C
2020	14.4 °C

What this means for you: Since 1923, Bedford's last spring frost has come about 1 day earlier per decade, on average. The frost-free season has grown by about 3 days per decade. Year-to-year swings are large, so keep using the safe date rather than the trend.

Source: daily records from St Margaret's Bay (NOAA GHCN-Daily, from Environment and Climate Change Canada). Years with too many missing days are left out.

Nearby towns

Kearney Lake Lower Sackville Burnside Bridgeview Windsor Junction Convoy Place