When to plant in Baker Lake, NU

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

Safe to plant out

Jun 30

1 year in 10 has a later frost

Average last frost

Jun 22

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Aug 30

1 year in 10 by Aug 20

Frost-free days

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Baker Lake A · 3.6 km away · station 19 m, town 8 m. How we match towns to stations

This season

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Planting dates for common crops

Crop	Start indoors	Plant out or sow	Harvest from
Tomato Season likely too short	May 22 – Jun 5	Jul 17 – Jul 31	Sep 10
Sweet pepper Season likely too short	May 8 – May 22	Jul 17 – Jul 31	Sep 15
Lettuce (leaf)	May 14 – May 21	Jun 18 – Jul 2	Jul 28
Peas	—	Jun 18 – Jul 16	Aug 12
Bush beans Season likely too short	—	Jul 10 – Jul 31	Aug 29
Carrot	—	Jun 25 – Aug 6	Aug 24
Beet	—	Jun 25 – Aug 6	Aug 14
Potato	—	Jun 25 – Jul 16	Sep 3
Kale	May 14 – May 28	Jun 25 – Jul 9	Aug 7
Broccoli	May 7 – May 21	Jun 18 – Jul 9	Aug 17
Cucumber Season likely too short	Jun 19 – Jun 26	Jul 17 – Jul 31	Sep 5
Summer squash and zucchini Season likely too short	Jun 19 – Jun 26	Jul 17 – Jul 31	Aug 31
Winter squash Season likely too short	Jun 19 – Jun 26	Jul 17 – Jul 31	Oct 5
Sweet corn Season likely too short	—	Jul 10 – Jul 31	Sep 8
Onion (from sets)	—	Jun 18 – Jul 9	Sep 16
Garlic	—	Aug 5 – Sep 2 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Jun 18 – Jul 16	Jul 26
Basil Season likely too short	Jun 5 – Jun 19	Jul 17 – Jul 31	Sep 12

Plan all 65 crops for Baker Lake

Baker Lake'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
1946	Jul 6
1950	Jul 5
1951	Jul 12
1952	Jun 14
1953	Jun 22
1954	Jun 28
1955	Jul 6
1956	Jun 26
1957	Jul 5
1958	Jun 20
1959	Jun 15
1960	Jun 10
1961	Jun 29
1962	Jun 21
1963	Jun 28
1964	Jun 25
1965	Jun 29
1966	Jun 19
1967	Jun 27
1968	Jun 17
1969	Jun 27
1970	Jun 19
1971	Jun 11
1972	Jul 11
1973	Jun 13
1974	Jun 8
1975	Jun 7
1976	Jun 23
1977	Jun 19
1978	Jun 29
1979	Jun 27
1980	Jun 24
1981	Jun 14
1982	Jun 25
1983	Jul 1
1984	Jun 10
1985	Jul 8
1986	Jun 21
1987	Jun 22
1988	Jun 20
1989	Jun 20
1990	Jun 28
1991	Jul 8
1992	Jul 14
1994	Jun 26
1995	Jun 16
1996	Jun 20
1997	Jun 23
1998	Jun 7
1999	Jun 20
2000	Jun 18
2001	Jun 25
2002	Jun 20
2003	Jun 21
2004	Jun 30
2005	Jun 13
2006	Jun 16
2007	Jun 25
2008	Jun 12
2009	Jun 18
2011	Jun 28
2012	Jun 8
2013	Jun 28

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1946	56
1950	39
1951	47
1952	76
1953	34
1954	69
1955	62
1956	55
1957	51
1958	78
1959	85
1960	89
1961	53
1962	74
1963	63
1964	74
1965	63
1966	86
1967	62
1968	92
1969	68
1970	74
1971	82
1972	3
1973	85
1974	81
1975	88
1976	42
1977	62
1978	62
1980	76
1981	75
1982	58
1983	73
1984	83
1985	49
1986	65
1987	67
1988	68
1989	72
1990	34
1991	53
1992	39
1994	65
1995	72
1996	71
1997	43
1998	100
1999	62
2000	78
2001	67
2002	66
2003	77
2004	68
2005	80
2006	67
2007	47
2008	69
2009	95
2011	78
2012	85

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1946	-0.4 °C
1950	-0.9 °C
1951	1.1 °C
1952	2.4 °C
1953	1.5 °C
1954	1.8 °C
1955	2.0 °C
1956	-1.2 °C
1957	-0.1 °C
1958	0.1 °C
1959	-0.9 °C
1960	2.6 °C
1961	-0.4 °C
1962	-0.6 °C
1963	-0.1 °C
1964	0.3 °C
1965	-0.4 °C
1966	1.4 °C
1967	-0.6 °C
1968	-0.5 °C
1969	0.0 °C
1970	0.4 °C
1971	1.8 °C
1972	-1.5 °C
1973	2.5 °C
1974	0.5 °C
1975	3.1 °C
1976	1.4 °C
1977	1.7 °C
1978	-1.7 °C
1979	0.1 °C
1980	1.8 °C
1981	0.7 °C
1982	-0.2 °C
1983	-0.0 °C
1984	1.6 °C
1985	1.1 °C
1986	0.1 °C
1987	-0.5 °C
1988	1.1 °C
1989	0.6 °C
1990	-0.0 °C
1991	1.2 °C
1992	-1.4 °C
1994	1.3 °C
1995	1.4 °C
1996	2.5 °C
1997	1.8 °C
1998	3.0 °C
1999	2.1 °C
2000	0.8 °C
2001	2.4 °C
2002	0.3 °C
2003	1.8 °C
2004	-0.7 °C
2005	1.4 °C
2006	2.4 °C
2007	1.2 °C
2008	2.1 °C
2009	0.9 °C
2011	1.2 °C
2012	2.5 °C
2013	1.8 °C

What this means for you: Since 1946, Baker Lake's last spring frost has come about 1 day earlier per decade, on average. The frost-free season has grown by about 2 days per decade. Year-to-year swings are large, so keep using the safe date rather than the trend.

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