When to plant in Winchester, KY

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

Safe to plant out

May 11

1 year in 10 has a later frost

Average last frost

Apr 25

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Oct 19

1 year in 10 by Oct 8

Frost-free days

171

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Mt Sterling · 22.9 km away · station 293 m, town 303 m. How we match towns to stations

This season

Plan your garden.

Build my Winchester plan

Planting dates for common crops

Crop	Start indoors	Plant out or sow	Harvest from
Tomato	Mar 16 – Mar 30	May 11 – May 25	Jul 5
Sweet pepper	Mar 2 – Mar 16	May 11 – May 25	Jul 10
Lettuce (leaf)	Feb 21 – Feb 28	Mar 28 – Apr 11	May 7
Peas	—	Mar 14 – Apr 11	May 8
Bush beans	—	May 4 – May 25	Jun 23
Carrot	—	Apr 4 – May 16	Jun 3
Beet	—	Mar 28 – May 9	May 17
Potato	—	Apr 4 – Apr 25	Jun 13
Kale	Feb 14 – Feb 28	Mar 28 – Apr 11	May 10
Broccoli	Feb 14 – Feb 28	Mar 28 – Apr 18	May 27
Cucumber	Apr 13 – Apr 20	May 11 – May 25	Jun 30
Summer squash and zucchini	Apr 13 – Apr 20	May 11 – May 25	Jun 25
Winter squash	Apr 13 – Apr 20	May 11 – May 25	Jul 30
Sweet corn	—	May 4 – May 25	Jul 3
Onion (from sets)	—	Mar 28 – Apr 18	Jun 26
Garlic	—	Oct 5 – Nov 2 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Mar 14 – Apr 11	Apr 21
Basil	Mar 30 – Apr 13	May 11 – May 25	Jul 7

Plan all 65 crops for Winchester

Winchester'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
1893	Apr 24
1894	May 20
1895	May 15
1896	Apr 8
1897	Apr 20
1898	Apr 8
1899	Apr 9
1900	Apr 14
1901	Apr 22
1902	Apr 13
1903	Apr 5
1904	Apr 21
1905	Apr 17
1906	May 9
1907	Apr 21
1908	Apr 4
1909	Apr 11
1910	Apr 24
1911	Apr 9
1912	Apr 9
1913	Mar 30
1914	Apr 21
1915	Apr 16
1916	Apr 23
1917	Apr 15
1918	Apr 14
1919	Apr 27
1920	Apr 14
1921	Apr 19
1922	Apr 23
1923	May 10
1924	Apr 11
1925	May 1
1926	Apr 27
1927	Apr 25
1928	Apr 28
1929	Apr 23
1930	Apr 26
1931	May 8
1932	Apr 28
1933	Apr 27
1935	Apr 17
1936	Apr 23
1937	Apr 12
1938	May 13
1941	Mar 20
1942	Apr 20
1943	Apr 22
1944	Apr 13
1945	Apr 18
1946	Apr 12
1947	May 10
1948	Apr 2
1949	Apr 20
1950	Apr 21
1951	Apr 23
1952	Apr 18
1953	Apr 20
1954	May 4
1955	Apr 8
1956	Apr 23
1957	May 5
1958	Apr 8
1959	Apr 13
1960	Apr 11
1961	Apr 17
1962	Apr 20
1963	May 1
1964	Apr 9
1965	Apr 3
1966	May 10
1967	Apr 28
1968	May 6
1969	Apr 20
1970	Apr 11
1971	Apr 10
1972	Apr 26
1973	Apr 14
1974	May 7
1975	Apr 16
1976	May 4
1977	May 10
1978	Mar 30
1979	Apr 7
1980	Apr 17
1981	Apr 21
1982	Apr 23
1997	May 15
1998	Apr 11
1999	Apr 14
2000	Apr 28
2001	Apr 25
2011	May 6
2012	Apr 13
2013	Apr 26
2014	Apr 24
2015	Apr 29
2016	Apr 14
2017	May 9
2018	Apr 30
2019	Apr 3
2020	May 12
2021	May 1
2022	Apr 28
2023	May 5
2024	Apr 23
2025	Apr 17
2026	May 3

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1893	174
1894	138
1895	138
1896	168
1897	205
1898	201
1899	173
1900	203
1901	165
1902	209
1903	201
1904	187
1905	187
1906	154
1907	175
1908	209
1909	184
1910	186
1911	197
1912	200
1913	205
1914	188
1915	176
1916	170
1917	174
1918	201
1920	175
1921	176
1922	172
1923	162
1924	194
1925	161
1926	181
1927	176
1928	148
1929	174
1930	175
1932	161
1935	169
1936	187
1941	222
1942	188
1943	177
1944	192
1945	173
1946	182
1947	181
1949	199
1950	202
1951	168
1952	171
1953	192
1954	168
1955	199
1956	198
1958	205
1959	197
1960	192
1961	180
1962	186
1963	181
1964	183
1965	203
1966	169
1967	174
1968	151
1969	180
1970	188
1971	207
1972	175
1973	205
1974	148
1975	197
1976	166
1977	159
1978	223
1979	189
1980	178
1981	185
1982	181
1997	158
1998	193
1999	192
2000	161
2001	163
2011	168
2012	178
2013	176
2014	188
2015	170
2016	193
2017	169
2018	171
2019	192
2020	157
2021	179
2022	152
2023	158
2024	175
2025	188

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1893	19.6 °C
1894	20.1 °C
1895	20.0 °C
1896	20.5 °C
1897	19.6 °C
1898	20.8 °C
1899	21.0 °C
1900	21.5 °C
1901	19.8 °C
1902	20.0 °C
1903	20.3 °C
1904	20.0 °C
1905	20.8 °C
1906	21.1 °C
1907	19.3 °C
1908	20.9 °C
1909	19.7 °C
1910	19.5 °C
1911	21.3 °C
1912	20.2 °C
1913	20.8 °C
1915	20.2 °C
1916	19.8 °C
1917	18.7 °C
1918	19.8 °C
1919	20.6 °C
1920	19.3 °C
1921	21.6 °C
1922	21.3 °C
1923	20.0 °C
1924	19.1 °C
1925	21.1 °C
1926	19.9 °C
1927	19.4 °C
1928	18.6 °C
1929	19.3 °C
1930	20.5 °C
1931	20.3 °C
1932	20.4 °C
1933	21.0 °C
1935	19.9 °C
1936	21.8 °C
1937	20.1 °C
1941	22.2 °C
1942	21.2 °C
1943	21.4 °C
1944	21.7 °C
1945	20.8 °C
1946	20.5 °C
1947	21.0 °C
1949	21.1 °C
1950	19.3 °C
1951	20.7 °C
1952	20.8 °C
1953	21.2 °C
1954	21.7 °C
1955	21.4 °C
1956	19.8 °C
1957	21.4 °C
1958	20.1 °C
1959	21.2 °C
1960	20.4 °C
1961	19.3 °C
1962	20.1 °C
1963	19.6 °C
1964	21.0 °C
1965	20.6 °C
1966	19.4 °C
1967	19.1 °C
1968	20.3 °C
1969	20.8 °C
1970	21.3 °C
1971	19.9 °C
1972	19.9 °C
1973	20.2 °C
1974	19.6 °C
1975	20.2 °C
1976	19.2 °C
1977	21.4 °C
1978	20.5 °C
1979	19.6 °C
1980	20.9 °C
1981	20.3 °C
1982	19.5 °C
1991	21.8 °C
1997	17.4 °C
1998	19.9 °C
1999	19.7 °C
2000	19.0 °C
2001	20.1 °C
2011	19.8 °C
2012	20.0 °C
2013	19.3 °C
2014	19.3 °C
2015	19.8 °C
2016	20.2 °C
2017	19.4 °C
2018	20.1 °C
2019	20.4 °C
2020	18.7 °C
2021	19.0 °C
2022	19.5 °C
2023	19.1 °C
2024	20.6 °C
2025	20.5 °C

What this means for you: Since 1893, Winchester's last spring frost has stayed at about the same time of year. Year-to-year swings are large, so keep using the safe date rather than the trend.

Source: daily records from Mt Sterling (NOAA GHCN-Daily). Years with too many missing days are left out.

Nearby towns

Mount Sterling Paris Lexington-Fayette Camargo Lexington Clay City