When to plant in Iqaluit, NU

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

Safe to plant out

Jun 25

1 year in 10 has a later frost

Average last frost

Jun 17

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Sep 5

1 year in 10 by Aug 26

Frost-free days

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Iqaluit A · 1.6 km away · station 34 m, town 14 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 Summers too cool	—	—	—
Sweet pepper Summers too cool	—	—	—
Lettuce (leaf)	May 24 – May 31	Jun 28 – Jul 12	Aug 7
Peas	—	Jun 28 – Jul 26	Aug 22
Bush beans Summers too cool	—	—	—
Carrot	—	Jul 15 – Aug 26	Sep 13
Beet	—	Jul 15 – Aug 26	Sep 3
Potato	—	Jul 15 – Aug 5	Sep 23
Kale	May 24 – Jun 7	Jul 5 – Jul 19	Aug 17
Broccoli	May 17 – May 31	Jun 28 – Jul 19	Aug 27
Cucumber Summers too cool	—	—	—
Summer squash and zucchini Summers too cool	—	—	—
Winter squash Summers too cool	—	—	—
Sweet corn Summers too cool	—	—	—
Onion (from sets)	—	Jun 28 – Jul 19	Sep 26
Garlic	—	Aug 22 – Sep 19 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Jun 28 – Jul 26	Aug 5
Basil Summers too cool	—	—	—

Plan all 65 crops for Iqaluit

Iqaluit'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
1949	Jul 2
1950	Jun 21
1951	Jun 13
1952	Jun 13
1953	Jun 23
1954	Jun 19
1955	Jun 3
1956	Jun 22
1957	Jul 6
1958	Jun 29
1959	Jul 12
1960	Jul 1
1961	Jul 3
1962	Jul 13
1963	Jul 1
1964	Jul 14
1965	Jul 2
1966	Jul 8
1967	Jun 13
1968	Jul 7
1969	Jul 4
1970	Jul 7
1971	Jul 6
1972	Jul 6
1973	Jun 25
1974	Jun 14
1975	Jun 24
1976	Jun 13
1977	Jun 20
1978	Jul 12
1979	Jun 19
1980	Jun 17
1981	Jun 17
1982	Jul 7
1983	Jun 13
1984	Jun 20
1985	Jun 23
1986	Jun 26
1987	Jun 18
1988	Jul 12
1989	Jun 13
1990	Jun 17
1991	Jun 11
1992	Jun 22
1994	Jun 15
1995	Jun 6
1996	Jun 28
1997	Jun 8
1998	Jun 13
2000	Jun 19
2001	Jun 9
2002	Jun 18
2003	Jun 13
2004	Jun 19
2005	Jul 10
2006	Jun 13
2007	Jun 16
2008	Jun 23

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1949	54
1951	70
1952	84
1953	65
1954	89
1955	92
1956	76
1957	48
1958	67
1959	47
1960	69
1961	59
1962	46
1963	24
1964	0
1965	49
1966	63
1967	80
1968	43
1969	66
1970	55
1971	44
1972	41
1973	65
1974	47
1975	74
1976	37
1977	67
1978	59
1979	61
1980	51
1981	73
1982	59
1983	74
1984	37
1985	78
1986	57
1987	79
1988	62
1989	79
1990	62
1991	89
1992	63
1994	72
1995	100
1996	63
1997	60
1998	80
2000	95
2001	83
2002	70
2003	108
2004	68
2005	62
2006	93
2007	80

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1947	0.1 °C
1949	0.2 °C
1950	0.7 °C
1951	1.2 °C
1952	1.5 °C
1953	2.1 °C
1954	1.6 °C
1955	2.0 °C
1956	0.4 °C
1957	0.5 °C
1958	0.8 °C
1959	0.0 °C
1960	0.5 °C
1961	0.9 °C
1962	-0.6 °C
1963	-0.0 °C
1964	0.1 °C
1965	0.6 °C
1966	1.4 °C
1967	0.2 °C
1968	0.8 °C
1969	-0.1 °C
1970	-1.2 °C
1971	0.4 °C
1972	-1.7 °C
1973	1.0 °C
1974	0.5 °C
1975	1.1 °C
1976	-0.1 °C
1977	1.0 °C
1978	-1.1 °C
1979	1.2 °C
1980	0.8 °C
1981	1.1 °C
1982	-0.7 °C
1983	0.0 °C
1984	-0.1 °C
1985	1.0 °C
1986	0.5 °C
1987	-0.4 °C
1988	0.8 °C
1989	-0.1 °C
1990	-0.4 °C
1991	0.2 °C
1992	-1.8 °C
1994	0.5 °C
1995	1.9 °C
1996	1.3 °C
1997	1.3 °C
1998	1.7 °C
2000	0.9 °C
2001	1.3 °C
2002	0.7 °C
2003	1.8 °C
2004	0.8 °C
2005	1.7 °C
2006	2.4 °C
2007	0.1 °C

What this means for you: Since 1949, Iqaluit's last spring frost has come about 2 days earlier per decade, on average. The frost-free season has grown by about 4 days per decade. Year-to-year swings are large, so keep using the safe date rather than the trend.

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