When to plant in Akron, CO

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

Safe to plant out

May 20

1 year in 10 has a later frost

Average last frost

May 8

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Oct 5

1 year in 10 by Sep 20

Frost-free days

151

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Akron Washington Co Ap · 1.5 km away · station 1428 m, town 1420 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	Mar 25 – Apr 8	May 20 – Jun 3	Jul 14
Sweet pepper	Mar 11 – Mar 25	May 20 – Jun 3	Jul 19
Lettuce (leaf)	Mar 6 – Mar 13	Apr 10 – Apr 24	May 20
Peas	—	Mar 27 – Apr 24	May 21
Bush beans	—	May 13 – Jun 3	Jul 2
Carrot	—	Apr 17 – May 29	Jun 16
Beet	—	Apr 12 – May 24	Jun 1
Potato	—	Apr 17 – May 8	Jun 26
Kale	Feb 27 – Mar 13	Apr 10 – Apr 24	May 23
Broccoli	Feb 27 – Mar 13	Apr 10 – May 1	Jun 9
Cucumber	Apr 22 – Apr 29	May 20 – Jun 3	Jul 9
Summer squash and zucchini	Apr 22 – Apr 29	May 20 – Jun 3	Jul 4
Winter squash	Apr 22 – Apr 29	May 20 – Jun 3	Aug 8
Sweet corn	—	May 13 – Jun 3	Jul 12
Onion (from sets)	—	Apr 10 – May 1	Jul 9
Garlic	—	Sep 21 – Oct 19 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Mar 27 – Apr 24	May 4
Basil	Apr 8 – Apr 22	May 20 – Jun 3	Jul 16

Plan all 65 crops for Akron

Akron'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
1937	Apr 30
1938	May 8
1939	May 8
1940	May 1
1941	Apr 25
1942	May 18
1943	Jun 4
1944	May 5
1945	May 16
1946	May 20
1947	Jun 13
1948	May 12
1949	May 1
1950	May 26
1951	Jun 2
1952	May 11
1953	May 14
1954	Jun 3
1955	May 17
1956	Apr 30
1957	May 17
1958	Apr 30
1959	Apr 28
1960	May 6
1961	May 14
1962	May 1
1963	May 22
1964	May 12
1965	May 10
1966	May 13
1967	May 15
1968	May 19
1969	May 17
1970	May 15
1971	May 12
1972	May 4
1973	May 2
1974	May 21
1975	May 7
1976	May 6
1977	Apr 21
1978	May 9
1979	May 11
1980	May 13
1981	May 14
1982	May 6
1983	May 18
1984	May 6
1985	May 13
1986	May 17
1987	Apr 22
1988	May 7
1989	May 1
1990	May 10
1991	May 5
1992	May 26
1993	May 9
1994	Apr 30
1995	May 14
1997	May 3
1998	Apr 29
1999	May 11
2000	May 13
2001	May 21
2002	May 9
2003	May 11
2004	May 14
2005	May 12
2006	May 11
2007	Apr 14
2008	May 11
2009	Apr 27
2010	May 13
2012	Apr 16
2013	May 5
2014	May 14
2015	May 11
2016	May 2
2017	May 20
2018	Apr 25
2019	May 22
2020	May 11
2021	May 11
2022	May 2
2023	Apr 29
2024	May 8

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1937	147
1938	162
1939	149
1940	166
1941	135
1942	122
1943	130
1944	145
1945	125
1946	124
1947	130
1948	146
1949	162
1950	129
1951	110
1952	143
1953	141
1954	109
1955	141
1956	166
1957	127
1958	152
1959	153
1960	160
1961	138
1962	130
1963	158
1964	137
1965	128
1966	139
1967	134
1968	141
1969	139
1970	133
1971	127
1972	144
1973	160
1974	114
1975	154
1976	152
1977	163
1978	134
1979	150
1980	155
1981	155
1982	152
1983	124
1984	140
1985	132
1986	146
1987	169
1988	150
1989	133
1990	149
1991	151
1992	133
1993	126
1994	143
1995	128
1997	161
1998	159
1999	139
2000	132
2001	135
2002	138
2003	129
2004	151
2005	145
2006	153
2007	184
2008	154
2009	157
2010	165
2012	170
2013	151
2014	166
2015	169
2016	156
2017	141
2018	166
2019	139
2020	119
2021	154
2022	167
2023	166
2024	174

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1937	18.4 °C
1938	17.8 °C
1939	18.6 °C
1940	18.3 °C
1941	17.1 °C
1942	17.1 °C
1943	17.3 °C
1944	16.6 °C
1945	15.4 °C
1946	17.2 °C
1947	16.9 °C
1948	18.1 °C
1949	17.0 °C
1950	15.7 °C
1951	15.4 °C
1952	18.1 °C
1953	16.6 °C
1954	18.1 °C
1955	17.6 °C
1956	17.5 °C
1957	16.0 °C
1958	17.2 °C
1959	17.3 °C
1960	17.8 °C
1961	16.2 °C
1962	17.7 °C
1963	19.1 °C
1964	17.3 °C
1965	16.2 °C
1966	17.2 °C
1967	16.1 °C
1968	16.1 °C
1969	18.0 °C
1970	17.2 °C
1971	16.6 °C
1972	16.9 °C
1973	16.2 °C
1974	17.2 °C
1975	16.4 °C
1976	17.2 °C
1977	18.6 °C
1978	17.4 °C
1979	16.9 °C
1980	17.6 °C
1981	17.9 °C
1982	16.2 °C
1983	16.7 °C
1984	16.7 °C
1985	17.4 °C
1986	17.6 °C
1987	17.5 °C
1988	17.7 °C
1989	17.3 °C
1990	17.4 °C
1991	17.9 °C
1992	17.3 °C
1993	16.5 °C
1994	18.8 °C
1995	16.2 °C
1997	16.9 °C
1998	17.8 °C
1999	16.6 °C
2000	18.7 °C
2001	18.3 °C
2002	18.5 °C
2003	17.6 °C
2004	17.1 °C
2005	17.9 °C
2006	18.4 °C
2007	18.7 °C
2008	17.3 °C
2009	16.7 °C
2010	18.0 °C
2012	20.1 °C
2013	17.7 °C
2014	17.5 °C
2015	18.0 °C
2016	17.8 °C
2017	18.0 °C
2018	18.3 °C
2019	18.0 °C
2020	18.5 °C
2021	18.5 °C
2022	19.0 °C
2023	17.9 °C
2024	18.8 °C

What this means for you: Since 1937, Akron'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 Akron Washington Co Ap (NOAA GHCN-Daily). Years with too many missing days are left out.

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