When to plant in New Waterford, NS

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

Safe to plant out

Jun 6

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 20

1 year in 10 by Oct 4

Frost-free days

152

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Sydney A · 9.6 km away · station 62 m, town 19 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 15 – Apr 29	Jun 10 – Jun 24	Aug 4
Sweet pepper	Apr 1 – Apr 15	Jun 10 – Jun 24	Aug 9
Lettuce (leaf)	Mar 31 – Apr 7	May 5 – May 19	Jun 14
Peas	—	May 5 – Jun 2	Jun 29
Bush beans	—	Jun 5 – Jun 26	Jul 25
Carrot	—	May 17 – Jun 28	Jul 16
Beet	—	May 17 – Jun 28	Jul 6
Potato	—	May 17 – Jun 7	Jul 26
Kale	Mar 31 – Apr 14	May 12 – May 26	Jun 24
Broccoli	Mar 24 – Apr 7	May 5 – May 26	Jul 4
Cucumber	May 13 – May 20	Jun 10 – Jun 24	Jul 30
Summer squash and zucchini	May 13 – May 20	Jun 10 – Jun 24	Jul 25
Winter squash	May 13 – May 20	Jun 10 – Jun 24	Aug 29
Sweet corn	—	Jun 5 – Jun 26	Aug 4
Onion (from sets)	—	May 5 – May 26	Aug 3
Garlic	—	Sep 26 – Oct 24 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	May 5 – Jun 2	Jun 12
Basil	Apr 29 – May 13	Jun 10 – Jun 24	Aug 6

Plan all 65 crops for New Waterford

New Waterford'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
1942	May 2
1943	May 20
1944	May 20
1945	Jun 9
1946	Jun 4
1947	May 16
1948	May 17
1949	May 21
1950	May 10
1951	May 18
1952	May 19
1953	May 27
1954	May 28
1955	May 8
1956	Jun 9
1957	May 23
1958	May 16
1959	May 11
1960	May 2
1961	May 19
1962	Jun 1
1963	May 12
1964	Jun 9
1965	May 25
1966	May 19
1967	May 31
1968	Jun 2
1969	May 27
1970	Jun 14
1971	Jun 7
1972	May 27
1973	May 3
1974	May 24
1975	May 26
1976	May 29
1977	May 21
1978	May 24
1979	Apr 30
1980	May 31
1981	May 8
1982	May 28
1983	May 27
1984	May 4
1985	May 27
1986	May 28
1987	May 24
1988	May 10
1989	Apr 30
1990	May 13
1991	May 24
1992	Jun 5
1993	May 13
1994	May 25
1995	Jun 6
1996	May 28
1997	Jun 8
1998	May 20
1999	May 15
2000	Jun 6
2001	May 21
2002	May 26
2003	May 6
2004	May 26
2005	May 14
2006	May 25
2007	May 24
2008	May 5
2009	May 12
2010	May 22
2011	May 23
2012	May 2
2013	May 29
2014	May 14
2025	May 14
2026	Jun 2

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1942	167
1943	143
1944	152
1945	141
1946	146
1947	140
1948	152
1949	156
1950	159
1951	142
1952	152
1953	139
1954	132
1955	151
1956	123
1957	151
1958	139
1959	158
1960	164
1961	174
1962	126
1963	150
1964	138
1965	127
1966	160
1967	137
1968	130
1969	144
1970	127
1971	112
1972	129
1973	160
1974	139
1975	136
1976	135
1977	140
1978	132
1979	168
1980	142
1981	157
1982	131
1983	155
1984	153
1985	139
1986	143
1987	144
1988	157
1989	149
1990	173
1991	149
1992	120
1993	145
1994	170
1995	141
1996	140
1997	136
1998	158
1999	163
2000	115
2001	160
2002	136
2003	167
2004	128
2005	173
2006	134
2007	146
2008	155
2009	155
2010	155
2011	161
2012	187
2013	152
2025	151

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1941	11.1 °C
1942	13.3 °C
1944	12.9 °C
1945	12.8 °C
1946	12.7 °C
1947	12.7 °C
1948	11.7 °C
1949	12.8 °C
1950	12.3 °C
1951	13.2 °C
1952	13.1 °C
1953	12.5 °C
1954	11.8 °C
1955	11.7 °C
1956	11.1 °C
1957	11.9 °C
1958	12.5 °C
1959	12.3 °C
1960	13.2 °C
1961	12.7 °C
1962	10.9 °C
1963	11.4 °C
1964	10.8 °C
1965	11.0 °C
1966	11.9 °C
1967	12.4 °C
1968	11.7 °C
1969	11.9 °C
1970	12.0 °C
1971	12.5 °C
1972	11.6 °C
1973	12.0 °C
1974	10.8 °C
1975	11.8 °C
1976	12.3 °C
1977	11.5 °C
1978	11.6 °C
1979	12.3 °C
1980	11.3 °C
1981	12.3 °C
1982	11.4 °C
1983	12.6 °C
1984	12.6 °C
1985	11.6 °C
1986	10.8 °C
1987	11.9 °C
1988	12.1 °C
1989	12.7 °C
1990	12.5 °C
1991	11.8 °C
1992	11.4 °C
1993	11.7 °C
1994	12.8 °C
1995	11.7 °C
1996	12.0 °C
1997	11.2 °C
1998	12.8 °C
1999	14.4 °C
2000	12.2 °C
2001	12.6 °C
2002	12.1 °C
2003	12.6 °C
2004	12.0 °C
2005	12.9 °C
2006	13.5 °C
2007	11.9 °C
2008	12.5 °C
2009	12.8 °C
2010	13.1 °C
2011	12.2 °C
2012	13.7 °C
2013	13.2 °C
2025	13.6 °C
2026	12.4 °C

What this means for you: Since 1942, New Waterford's last spring frost has stayed at about the same time of year. The frost-free season has grown by about 1 days per decade. Year-to-year swings are large, so keep using the safe date rather than the trend.

Source: daily records from Sydney A (NOAA GHCN-Daily, from Environment and Climate Change Canada). Years with too many missing days are left out.

Nearby towns

Scotchtown New Victoria Dominion Reserve Mines Sydney Mines Glace Bay