When to plant in Simsbury Center, CT

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

Safe to plant out

May 13

1 year in 10 has a later frost

Average last frost

Apr 23

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Oct 16

1 year in 10 by Oct 1

Frost-free days

176

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Hartford-Bradley Intl Ap · 12.4 km away · station 52 m, town 88 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 18 – Apr 1	May 13 – May 27	Jul 7
Sweet pepper	Mar 4 – Mar 18	May 13 – May 27	Jul 12
Lettuce (leaf)	Feb 23 – Mar 2	Mar 30 – Apr 13	May 9
Peas	—	Mar 30 – Apr 27	May 24
Bush beans	—	May 6 – May 27	Jun 25
Carrot	—	Apr 7 – May 19	Jun 6
Beet	—	Apr 7 – May 19	May 27
Potato	—	Apr 7 – Apr 28	Jun 16
Kale	Feb 23 – Mar 9	Apr 6 – Apr 20	May 19
Broccoli	Feb 16 – Mar 2	Mar 30 – Apr 20	May 29
Cucumber	Apr 15 – Apr 22	May 13 – May 27	Jul 2
Summer squash and zucchini	Apr 15 – Apr 22	May 13 – May 27	Jun 27
Winter squash	Apr 15 – Apr 22	May 13 – May 27	Aug 1
Sweet corn	—	May 6 – May 27	Jul 5
Onion (from sets)	—	Mar 30 – Apr 20	Jun 28
Garlic	—	Oct 2 – Oct 30 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Mar 30 – Apr 27	May 7
Basil	Apr 1 – Apr 15	May 13 – May 27	Jul 9

Plan all 65 crops for Simsbury Center

Simsbury Center'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	Apr 29
1950	May 8
1951	Apr 24
1952	Apr 12
1953	Mar 22
1954	Apr 10
1955	Apr 18
1956	May 9
1957	May 3
1958	Apr 12
1959	Apr 24
1961	May 6
1962	May 13
1963	Apr 29
1964	May 4
1965	Apr 25
1966	May 11
1967	May 7
1968	May 8
1969	Apr 21
1970	Apr 14
1971	Apr 28
1972	Apr 28
1973	Apr 15
1974	May 8
1975	Apr 23
1976	Apr 13
1977	Apr 11
1978	May 4
1979	Apr 20
1980	Apr 22
1981	May 9
1982	Apr 23
1983	May 12
1984	May 18
1985	May 9
1986	May 4
1987	May 14
1988	Apr 26
1989	Apr 26
1990	Apr 19
1991	Apr 19
1992	May 6
1993	Apr 8
1994	Apr 23
1995	Apr 17
1996	May 7
1997	Apr 16
1998	Apr 13
1999	Apr 11
2000	Apr 14
2001	May 7
2002	May 20
2003	Apr 18
2004	Apr 10
2005	May 13
2006	Apr 11
2007	Apr 11
2008	May 1
2009	Apr 17
2010	May 13
2011	Apr 22
2012	Apr 13
2013	May 15
2014	Apr 21
2015	Apr 25
2016	Apr 17
2017	Apr 9
2018	Apr 23
2019	Apr 11
2020	May 10
2021	Apr 22
2022	Apr 21
2023	May 18
2024	Apr 23

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1949	181
1950	138
1951	158
1952	181
1953	200
1954	180
1955	186
1956	134
1957	146
1958	176
1959	174
1961	151
1962	130
1963	147
1964	154
1965	155
1966	168
1967	168
1968	150
1969	177
1970	186
1971	190
1972	164
1973	189
1974	138
1975	162
1976	180
1977	179
1978	145
1979	152
1980	170
1981	154
1982	170
1983	160
1984	139
1985	155
1986	155
1987	151
1988	163
1989	166
1990	184
1991	162
1992	147
1993	175
1994	171
1995	196
1996	149
1997	178
1998	176
1999	178
2000	167
2001	154
2002	147
2003	170
2004	178
2005	166
2006	185
2007	200
2008	170
2009	177
2010	170
2011	188
2012	182
2013	162
2014	192
2015	175
2016	180
2017	205
2018	177
2019	204
2020	160
2021	195
2022	182
2023	166
2024	176

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1949	18.5 °C
1950	16.4 °C
1951	17.6 °C
1952	18.3 °C
1953	18.0 °C
1954	16.8 °C
1955	18.5 °C
1956	15.9 °C
1957	17.8 °C
1958	16.5 °C
1959	18.4 °C
1960	18.5 °C
1961	17.7 °C
1962	16.9 °C
1963	17.1 °C
1964	18.0 °C
1965	18.3 °C
1966	18.1 °C
1967	17.3 °C
1968	18.2 °C
1969	18.0 °C
1970	18.6 °C
1971	18.2 °C
1972	17.4 °C
1973	18.9 °C
1974	17.8 °C
1975	18.2 °C
1976	18.4 °C
1977	18.7 °C
1978	17.2 °C
1979	18.3 °C
1980	18.3 °C
1981	18.5 °C
1982	17.4 °C
1983	18.3 °C
1984	17.3 °C
1985	17.5 °C
1986	17.6 °C
1987	17.9 °C
1988	18.0 °C
1989	17.7 °C
1990	18.1 °C
1991	19.1 °C
1992	16.8 °C
1993	18.4 °C
1994	18.5 °C
1995	17.9 °C
1996	17.7 °C
1997	17.2 °C
1998	18.5 °C
1999	18.7 °C
2000	17.1 °C
2001	18.1 °C
2002	18.6 °C
2003	17.6 °C
2004	18.0 °C
2005	18.8 °C
2006	18.4 °C
2007	18.4 °C
2008	18.4 °C
2009	17.6 °C
2010	19.9 °C
2011	19.0 °C
2012	19.2 °C
2013	18.4 °C
2014	18.3 °C
2015	19.2 °C
2016	19.0 °C
2017	18.6 °C
2018	18.9 °C
2019	18.9 °C
2020	18.6 °C
2021	19.0 °C
2022	19.4 °C
2023	18.9 °C
2024	20.2 °C

What this means for you: Since 1949, Simsbury Center's last spring frost has stayed at about the same time of year. 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 Hartford-Bradley Intl Ap (NOAA GHCN-Daily). Years with too many missing days are left out.

Nearby towns

West Simsbury Weatogue Tariffville Avon Canton Valley Salmon Brook