When to plant in Shelton, CT

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

Safe to plant out

Apr 13

1 year in 10 has a later frost

Average last frost

Apr 6

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Nov 5

1 year in 10 by Oct 24

Frost-free days

213

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Igor I Sikorsky Mem Ap · 17.2 km away · station 2 m, town 19 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 2 – Mar 16	Apr 27 – May 11	Jun 21
Sweet pepper	Feb 16 – Mar 2	Apr 27 – May 11	Jun 26
Lettuce (leaf)	Feb 20 – Feb 27	Mar 27 – Apr 10	May 6
Peas	—	Mar 27 – Apr 24	May 21
Bush beans	—	Apr 22 – May 13	Jun 11
Carrot	—	Apr 6 – May 18	Jun 5
Beet	—	Apr 6 – May 18	May 26
Potato	—	Apr 6 – Apr 27	Jun 15
Kale	Feb 20 – Mar 6	Apr 3 – Apr 17	May 16
Broccoli	Feb 13 – Feb 27	Mar 27 – Apr 17	May 26
Cucumber	Mar 30 – Apr 6	Apr 27 – May 11	Jun 16
Summer squash and zucchini	Mar 30 – Apr 6	Apr 27 – May 11	Jun 11
Winter squash	Mar 30 – Apr 6	Apr 27 – May 11	Jul 16
Sweet corn	—	Apr 22 – May 13	Jun 21
Onion (from sets)	—	Mar 27 – Apr 17	Jun 25
Garlic	—	Oct 19 – Nov 16 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Mar 27 – Apr 24	May 4
Basil	Mar 16 – Mar 30	Apr 27 – May 11	Jun 23

Plan all 65 crops for Shelton

Shelton'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	Mar 21
1950	Apr 14
1951	Mar 27
1952	Apr 12
1953	Mar 22
1955	Apr 9
1956	Apr 25
1957	Apr 16
1958	Apr 11
1959	Mar 29
1960	Apr 11
1961	Apr 4
1962	Apr 18
1963	Apr 6
1964	Apr 6
1965	Apr 3
1966	May 11
1967	Apr 13
1968	Apr 6
1969	Apr 7
1970	Apr 11
1971	Apr 17
1972	Apr 9
1973	Apr 15
1974	Apr 10
1975	Apr 22
1976	Apr 13
1977	Apr 10
1978	Apr 3
1979	Apr 8
1980	Apr 17
1981	Apr 22
1982	Apr 23
1983	Mar 31
1984	Apr 22
1985	Apr 10
1986	Mar 25
1987	Apr 2
1988	Apr 20
1989	Apr 23
1990	Apr 19
1991	Apr 3
1992	Apr 13
1993	Mar 23
1994	Apr 8
1995	Apr 6
1996	Apr 9
1997	Apr 11
1998	Mar 25
1999	Apr 5
2000	Apr 13
2001	Apr 19
2002	Apr 7
2003	Apr 10
2004	Apr 6
2005	Mar 22
2006	Apr 7
2007	Apr 11
2008	Apr 3
2009	Apr 13
2010	Mar 27
2011	Mar 30
2012	Mar 27
2013	Apr 4
2014	Apr 16
2015	Apr 2
2016	Apr 13
2017	Mar 24
2018	Apr 11
2019	Apr 2
2020	Apr 23
2021	Apr 3
2022	Mar 30
2023	Apr 3
2024	Mar 24

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1949	229
1950	195
1951	220
1952	190
1953	228
1955	213
1956	198
1957	208
1958	210
1959	213
1960	209
1961	206
1962	189
1963	222
1964	188
1965	212
1966	171
1967	199
1968	233
1969	198
1970	199
1971	203
1972	193
1973	206
1974	190
1975	214
1976	197
1977	217
1978	235
1979	201
1980	199
1981	199
1982	177
1983	204
1984	206
1985	218
1986	230
1987	222
1988	171
1989	194
1990	203
1991	216
1992	208
1993	204
1994	217
1995	213
1996	216
1997	194
1998	223
1999	216
2000	219
2001	205
2002	199
2003	211
2004	216
2005	234
2006	202
2007	210
2008	203
2009	207
2010	237
2011	214
2012	223
2013	213
2014	205
2015	199
2016	201
2017	230
2018	214
2019	219
2020	189
2021	227
2022	229
2023	212
2024	233

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1949	18.8 °C
1950	16.6 °C
1951	18.1 °C
1952	18.9 °C
1953	18.6 °C
1955	19.2 °C
1956	16.9 °C
1957	18.6 °C
1958	17.3 °C
1959	19.0 °C
1960	18.2 °C
1961	17.8 °C
1962	17.1 °C
1963	17.2 °C
1964	17.4 °C
1965	18.1 °C
1966	17.7 °C
1967	16.9 °C
1968	18.7 °C
1969	18.2 °C
1970	18.4 °C
1971	18.2 °C
1972	17.9 °C
1973	18.7 °C
1974	18.9 °C
1975	18.1 °C
1976	18.2 °C
1977	18.3 °C
1978	17.7 °C
1979	18.3 °C
1980	18.9 °C
1981	17.8 °C
1982	17.1 °C
1983	18.0 °C
1984	18.2 °C
1985	18.4 °C
1986	18.1 °C
1987	18.2 °C
1988	18.5 °C
1989	17.9 °C
1990	18.2 °C
1991	19.5 °C
1992	17.2 °C
1993	19.1 °C
1994	19.0 °C
1995	18.7 °C
1996	17.8 °C
1997	17.6 °C
1998	18.6 °C
1999	19.0 °C
2000	17.6 °C
2001	18.8 °C
2002	18.9 °C
2003	17.9 °C
2004	18.7 °C
2005	19.1 °C
2006	18.7 °C
2007	18.4 °C
2008	19.1 °C
2009	17.9 °C
2010	20.2 °C
2011	19.6 °C
2012	19.8 °C
2013	18.9 °C
2014	18.8 °C
2015	19.7 °C
2016	19.9 °C
2017	19.4 °C
2018	19.4 °C
2019	19.3 °C
2020	19.3 °C
2021	19.6 °C
2022	19.4 °C
2023	18.9 °C
2024	19.6 °C

What this means for you: Since 1949, Shelton'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 Igor I Sikorsky Mem Ap (NOAA GHCN-Daily). Years with too many missing days are left out.

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