When to plant in Gateway, AK

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

Safe to plant out

May 27

1 year in 10 has a later frost

Average last frost

May 16

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Sep 19

1 year in 10 by Sep 5

Frost-free days

124

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Matanuska Exp Farm · 1.0 km away · station 52 m, town 63 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 9 – Apr 23	Jun 4 – Jun 18	Jul 29
Sweet pepper	Mar 26 – Apr 9	Jun 4 – Jun 18	Aug 3
Lettuce (leaf)	Mar 25 – Apr 1	Apr 29 – May 13	Jun 8
Peas	—	Apr 29 – May 27	Jun 23
Bush beans	—	May 28 – Jun 18	Jul 17
Carrot	—	May 10 – Jun 21	Jul 9
Beet	—	May 10 – Jun 21	Jun 29
Potato	—	May 10 – May 31	Jul 19
Kale	Mar 25 – Apr 8	May 6 – May 20	Jun 18
Broccoli	Mar 18 – Apr 1	Apr 29 – May 20	Jun 28
Cucumber	May 7 – May 14	Jun 4 – Jun 18	Jul 24
Summer squash and zucchini	May 7 – May 14	Jun 4 – Jun 18	Jul 19
Winter squash	May 7 – May 14	Jun 4 – Jun 18	Aug 23
Sweet corn	—	May 28 – Jun 18	Jul 27
Onion (from sets)	—	Apr 29 – May 20	Jul 28
Garlic	—	Aug 28 – Sep 25 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Apr 29 – May 27	Jun 6
Basil	Apr 23 – May 7	Jun 4 – Jun 18	Jul 31

Plan all 65 crops for Gateway

Gateway'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
1918	May 23
1919	Jun 2
1920	Jun 1
1921	May 30
1922	May 25
1923	May 17
1924	May 13
1925	Jun 6
1926	Apr 28
1927	May 16
1928	May 27
1929	May 15
1930	Jun 9
1931	May 29
1933	Jun 13
1936	May 27
1937	May 21
1938	May 20
1939	May 24
1940	May 25
1941	May 23
1942	May 5
1943	May 24
1944	Jun 3
1945	May 14
1946	Jun 2
1947	Jun 11
1948	May 9
1949	Jun 4
1951	Jun 20
1952	Jun 6
1953	May 24
1954	May 18
1955	May 20
1956	May 18
1957	May 22
1958	May 28
1959	May 21
1960	May 14
1961	Jun 4
1962	May 14
1963	Jun 6
1964	May 27
1965	May 20
1966	May 21
1967	May 18
1968	May 13
1969	May 18
1970	May 19
1971	May 30
1972	May 28
1973	May 27
1974	May 11
1975	May 23
1976	May 25
1977	May 26
1978	May 20
1979	May 15
1980	May 15
1981	May 7
1982	May 22
1983	May 19
1984	May 28
1985	May 22
1986	May 19
1987	May 29
1988	May 20
1989	May 26
1990	May 25
1991	May 17
1992	May 18
1993	Apr 26
1994	May 17
1995	May 19
1996	May 17
1997	May 18
1998	May 14
1999	May 19
2000	May 28
2001	May 27
2002	May 16
2003	May 20
2004	May 15
2005	May 5
2006	Jun 5
2007	May 19
2009	May 21
2010	May 23
2011	May 15
2012	May 18
2013	May 22
2014	May 10
2015	May 5
2016	May 2
2017	May 30
2018	May 13
2019	May 5
2020	May 5
2021	May 1
2022	May 15
2023	May 18
2024	May 10
2025	May 21

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1918	94
1919	106
1920	101
1921	95
1922	96
1923	123
1924	110
1925	108
1926	139
1927	110
1928	106
1929	127
1930	87
1931	106
1936	98
1937	128
1938	120
1939	108
1940	101
1941	112
1942	132
1943	121
1944	90
1945	115
1946	72
1947	66
1948	105
1951	95
1952	82
1953	101
1954	117
1955	101
1956	124
1957	120
1958	109
1959	107
1960	114
1961	95
1962	108
1963	106
1964	101
1965	96
1966	109
1967	125
1968	123
1969	84
1970	110
1971	102
1972	110
1973	79
1974	139
1975	112
1976	102
1977	115
1978	125
1979	132
1980	99
1981	138
1982	112
1983	108
1984	90
1985	105
1986	126
1987	94
1988	110
1989	112
1990	128
1991	127
1993	143
1994	133
1995	139
1996	124
1998	105
1999	128
2000	89
2001	122
2002	116
2003	118
2004	121
2005	150
2006	116
2007	120
2009	124
2010	118
2011	132
2012	112
2013	120
2014	134
2015	116
2016	139
2017	119
2018	139
2019	140
2020	128
2021	140
2022	147
2023	123
2024	134
2025	126

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1918	9.7 °C
1919	9.8 °C
1920	8.0 °C
1921	9.6 °C
1922	8.9 °C
1923	11.4 °C
1924	9.0 °C
1925	10.3 °C
1926	11.0 °C
1927	9.2 °C
1928	9.6 °C
1929	9.9 °C
1930	9.5 °C
1931	10.3 °C
1936	11.2 °C
1937	9.6 °C
1938	10.5 °C
1939	9.5 °C
1940	10.9 °C
1941	10.9 °C
1942	11.5 °C
1943	10.4 °C
1944	9.9 °C
1945	8.5 °C
1946	8.9 °C
1947	9.1 °C
1948	9.4 °C
1949	9.2 °C
1951	10.4 °C
1952	9.3 °C
1953	10.8 °C
1954	9.8 °C
1955	8.8 °C
1956	9.5 °C
1957	11.3 °C
1958	10.1 °C
1959	10.3 °C
1960	10.0 °C
1961	9.8 °C
1962	9.9 °C
1963	9.9 °C
1964	9.5 °C
1965	9.6 °C
1966	9.8 °C
1967	10.4 °C
1968	10.0 °C
1969	10.8 °C
1970	9.3 °C
1971	9.0 °C
1972	8.7 °C
1973	9.6 °C
1974	10.9 °C
1975	9.5 °C
1976	10.0 °C
1977	10.4 °C
1978	10.3 °C
1979	10.8 °C
1980	10.0 °C
1981	10.0 °C
1982	9.2 °C
1983	9.7 °C
1984	9.8 °C
1985	8.3 °C
1986	9.2 °C
1987	9.9 °C
1988	10.0 °C
1989	10.6 °C
1990	11.3 °C
1991	10.6 °C
1993	11.6 °C
1994	11.0 °C
1995	11.3 °C
1996	10.5 °C
1998	10.1 °C
1999	10.2 °C
2000	9.9 °C
2001	10.4 °C
2002	10.4 °C
2003	11.0 °C
2004	11.6 °C
2005	11.7 °C
2006	10.1 °C
2007	10.8 °C
2008	9.2 °C
2009	10.4 °C
2010	10.3 °C
2011	10.1 °C
2012	9.7 °C
2013	9.7 °C
2014	10.7 °C
2015	10.9 °C
2016	12.2 °C
2017	10.9 °C
2018	10.9 °C
2019	12.1 °C
2020	11.0 °C
2021	10.0 °C
2022	10.9 °C
2023	10.0 °C
2024	10.2 °C
2025	10.9 °C

What this means for you: Since 1918, Gateway'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 Matanuska Exp Farm (NOAA GHCN-Daily). Years with too many missing days are left out.

Nearby towns

Lakes Palmer Farm Loop Wasilla Butte Tanaina