When to plant in Burlington, CO

Planting dates worked out from Burlington'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 7

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Oct 8

1 year in 10 by Sep 23

Frost-free days

156

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Burlington · 0.7 km away · station 1269 m, town 1271 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	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 5 – Mar 12	Apr 9 – Apr 23	May 19
Peas	—	Mar 26 – Apr 23	May 20
Bush beans	—	May 13 – Jun 3	Jul 2
Carrot	—	Apr 16 – May 28	Jun 15
Beet	—	Apr 9 – May 21	May 29
Potato	—	Apr 16 – May 7	Jun 25
Kale	Feb 26 – Mar 12	Apr 9 – Apr 23	May 22
Broccoli	Feb 26 – Mar 12	Apr 9 – Apr 30	Jun 8
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 9 – Apr 30	Jul 8
Garlic	—	Sep 24 – Oct 22 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Mar 26 – Apr 23	May 3
Basil	Apr 8 – Apr 22	May 20 – Jun 3	Jul 16

Plan all 65 crops for Burlington

Burlington'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
1904	May 14
1905	May 17
1906	May 1
1907	May 27
1909	May 2
1911	May 11
1912	May 14
1913	May 15
1914	May 13
1915	May 21
1916	May 16
1917	May 8
1918	May 11
1919	Jun 4
1920	May 15
1921	May 2
1923	May 16
1924	May 14
1925	Apr 30
1926	Apr 25
1927	May 10
1928	May 4
1929	May 2
1931	May 22
1932	Apr 29
1933	Apr 15
1934	May 13
1935	May 5
1936	Apr 22
1937	Apr 29
1938	May 8
1939	Apr 21
1940	May 1
1941	Apr 21
1942	May 18
1943	May 13
1944	May 5
1945	May 16
1947	May 29
1948	May 6
1949	Apr 15
1950	May 27
1951	Jun 2
1952	May 11
1953	May 14
1954	May 4
1955	Apr 28
1956	Apr 30
1957	Apr 20
1958	Apr 29
1959	Apr 29
1960	May 1
1961	Apr 28
1964	Apr 17
1965	May 9
1966	May 12
1967	May 3
1968	May 19
1969	Apr 27
1970	May 15
1971	May 11
1974	Apr 22
1976	May 7
1979	May 13
1980	May 12
1981	May 10
1982	May 6
1983	May 16
1984	May 8
1985	May 15
1986	Apr 27
1987	Apr 21
1988	May 4
1990	May 9
1993	May 2
1994	May 2
1995	May 18
1996	May 1
1997	May 9
1998	Apr 28
1999	May 7
2000	May 13
2001	May 25
2002	May 25
2003	Apr 19
2004	May 15
2005	May 12
2009	Apr 28
2010	May 13
2011	May 3
2012	Apr 16
2013	May 5
2014	May 14
2015	May 11
2016	May 3
2017	May 1
2018	Apr 26
2019	May 22
2020	May 12
2021	Apr 25
2022	May 22
2023	Apr 24
2024	May 4
2025	Apr 20
2026	May 7

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1904	156
1905	145
1906	156
1911	161
1912	133
1913	131
1914	144
1915	136
1916	134
1917	152
1918	166
1919	110
1920	133
1923	149
1924	135
1925	158
1926	152
1927	138
1928	139
1929	171
1931	146
1932	157
1933	183
1934	135
1935	144
1936	158
1937	167
1938	164
1939	157
1940	166
1941	140
1942	130
1943	154
1944	158
1945	134
1947	146
1948	153
1949	178
1950	128
1951	105
1952	146
1953	142
1954	163
1955	161
1956	128
1957	154
1958	154
1959	152
1960	170
1961	149
1964	183
1965	129
1966	153
1967	156
1968	149
1969	159
1970	118
1971	129
1974	193
1976	143
1979	169
1980	157
1981	161
1982	157
1983	126
1984	139
1985	135
1986	166
1987	171
1988	171
1993	134
1994	174
1995	125
1996	169
1997	152
1998	160
1999	144
2000	133
2001	133
2002	140
2003	177
2004	151
2005	147
2009	156
2010	165
2011	167
2012	170
2013	152
2014	169
2015	169
2016	156
2017	161
2018	166
2019	140
2020	119
2021	171
2022	147
2023	172
2024	179
2025	181

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1904	16.7 °C
1905	17.5 °C
1906	17.1 °C
1907	17.4 °C
1910	18.9 °C
1911	19.2 °C
1912	16.9 °C
1913	18.9 °C
1914	18.9 °C
1915	16.4 °C
1916	18.0 °C
1917	16.9 °C
1918	17.8 °C
1919	19.0 °C
1920	17.0 °C
1923	17.4 °C
1924	17.4 °C
1925	19.2 °C
1926	18.2 °C
1927	17.8 °C
1928	16.8 °C
1929	17.7 °C
1930	18.4 °C
1931	18.7 °C
1932	19.1 °C
1933	19.2 °C
1934	20.6 °C
1935	18.1 °C
1936	19.9 °C
1937	19.5 °C
1938	18.8 °C
1939	19.8 °C
1940	18.9 °C
1941	18.4 °C
1942	18.3 °C
1943	19.2 °C
1944	18.0 °C
1945	17.1 °C
1947	18.4 °C
1948	19.2 °C
1949	18.3 °C
1950	17.2 °C
1951	16.8 °C
1952	19.1 °C
1953	18.3 °C
1954	20.2 °C
1955	19.2 °C
1956	18.5 °C
1957	17.1 °C
1958	17.7 °C
1959	18.3 °C
1960	18.6 °C
1961	17.2 °C
1963	20.6 °C
1964	18.8 °C
1965	18.1 °C
1966	18.6 °C
1967	17.8 °C
1968	17.8 °C
1969	18.8 °C
1970	18.7 °C
1971	18.1 °C
1973	17.8 °C
1974	18.7 °C
1978	19.1 °C
1980	19.2 °C
1981	19.2 °C
1982	17.9 °C
1983	17.9 °C
1984	17.9 °C
1988	19.4 °C
1990	19.0 °C
1991	18.8 °C
1992	17.7 °C
1993	17.2 °C
1994	18.9 °C
1995	16.7 °C
1997	17.4 °C
1998	18.9 °C
1999	17.3 °C
2000	19.3 °C
2001	19.9 °C
2002	19.9 °C
2003	19.2 °C
2004	18.2 °C
2005	19.6 °C
2009	17.1 °C
2010	18.5 °C
2011	18.4 °C
2012	20.2 °C
2013	18.4 °C
2014	18.2 °C
2015	19.2 °C
2016	18.6 °C
2017	18.1 °C
2018	18.8 °C
2019	18.9 °C
2020	19.0 °C
2021	19.0 °C
2022	19.6 °C
2023	19.1 °C
2024	19.9 °C
2025	18.8 °C
2026	20.5 °C

What this means for you: Since 1904, Burlington'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 Burlington (NOAA GHCN-Daily). Years with too many missing days are left out.

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