When to plant in Bridgewater, MA

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

Safe to plant out

May 16

1 year in 10 has a later frost

Average last frost

Apr 28

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Oct 14

1 year in 10 by Oct 1

Frost-free days

168

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Brockton · 6.9 km away · station 23 m, town 30 m. How we match towns to stations

This season

Plan your garden.

Build my Bridgewater plan

Planting dates for common crops

Crop	Start indoors	Plant out or sow	Harvest from
Tomato	Mar 21 – Apr 4	May 16 – May 30	Jul 10
Sweet pepper	Mar 7 – Mar 21	May 16 – May 30	Jul 15
Lettuce (leaf)	Feb 25 – Mar 4	Apr 1 – Apr 15	May 11
Peas	—	Apr 1 – Apr 29	May 26
Bush beans	—	May 9 – May 30	Jun 28
Carrot	—	Apr 10 – May 22	Jun 9
Beet	—	Apr 10 – May 22	May 30
Potato	—	Apr 10 – May 1	Jun 19
Kale	Feb 25 – Mar 11	Apr 8 – Apr 22	May 21
Broccoli	Feb 18 – Mar 4	Apr 1 – Apr 22	May 31
Cucumber	Apr 18 – Apr 25	May 16 – May 30	Jul 5
Summer squash and zucchini	Apr 18 – Apr 25	May 16 – May 30	Jun 30
Winter squash	Apr 18 – Apr 25	May 16 – May 30	Aug 4
Sweet corn	—	May 9 – May 30	Jul 8
Onion (from sets)	—	Apr 1 – Apr 22	Jun 30
Garlic	—	Sep 30 – Oct 28 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Apr 1 – Apr 29	May 9
Basil	Apr 4 – Apr 18	May 16 – May 30	Jul 12

Plan all 65 crops for Bridgewater

Bridgewater'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
1894	Apr 14
1895	May 2
1896	Apr 11
1897	Apr 21
1898	Apr 27
1899	Apr 12
1900	May 11
1903	May 2
1904	Apr 23
1905	Apr 19
1906	Apr 9
1907	May 12
1910	Apr 17
1913	Apr 21
1914	Apr 17
1915	Apr 5
1917	May 5
1930	Apr 25
1931	Apr 12
1932	Apr 28
1933	Apr 30
1934	Apr 29
1935	May 5
1936	Apr 28
1937	Apr 26
1938	Apr 11
1939	Apr 29
1940	Apr 22
1941	Apr 12
1943	May 2
1944	Apr 16
1945	Apr 23
1946	Apr 28
1947	May 16
1948	Apr 26
1949	Apr 25
1950	Apr 11
1954	Apr 13
1955	May 18
1956	May 26
1957	May 17
1958	May 3
1959	May 17
1961	May 31
1962	May 13
1963	May 24
1964	May 4
1966	May 14
1967	May 17
1968	May 27
1969	May 7
1970	May 30
1971	Apr 24
1972	May 27
1973	Apr 21
1974	May 8
1975	Apr 30
1976	Apr 15
1977	May 4
1978	May 2
1979	Apr 22
1980	Apr 20
1981	May 18
1982	Apr 30
1983	May 19
1984	May 8
1985	May 9
1986	Apr 14
1987	May 14
1988	May 9
1989	Apr 26
1990	Apr 19
1991	Apr 14
1992	Apr 30
1993	Apr 19
1994	May 22
1996	May 15
1997	May 5
1998	Apr 29
1999	May 1
2000	May 1
2001	May 7
2002	May 21
2003	May 19
2004	May 6
2005	May 13
2006	May 10
2007	May 7
2008	May 1
2009	Apr 20
2010	Mar 28
2011	Apr 16
2012	Apr 30
2013	Apr 22
2014	Apr 21
2015	Apr 12
2016	Apr 28
2017	Apr 9
2018	Apr 23
2019	Apr 5
2021	Apr 4
2022	Apr 18
2023	Apr 10
2024	Apr 26
2025	Apr 18
2026	Apr 21

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1894	184
1895	159
1896	191
1897	171
1898	183
1899	172
1900	159
1904	151
1905	185
1906	185
1907	149
1910	195
1913	175
1914	164
1915	215
1930	176
1931	189
1932	154
1933	178
1934	166
1935	155
1936	167
1937	165
1938	212
1939	169
1940	176
1941	196
1943	161
1944	182
1945	163
1946	191
1947	133
1948	175
1949	194
1954	177
1955	152
1956	115
1957	132
1958	156
1959	154
1961	126
1962	134
1963	123
1964	160
1966	134
1967	131
1968	125
1969	137
1970	127
1971	153
1972	135
1973	153
1974	138
1975	137
1976	178
1977	171
1978	134
1979	150
1980	172
1981	145
1982	170
1983	155
1984	150
1985	164
1986	175
1987	151
1988	152
1989	154
1990	190
1991	167
1992	153
1993	169
1996	141
1997	142
1998	158
1999	159
2000	151
2001	153
2003	137
2004	150
2005	168
2006	155
2007	174
2008	172
2009	177
2010	208
2011	196
2012	165
2013	185
2014	181
2015	188
2016	181
2017	205
2018	178
2019	183
2021	213
2022	209
2023	205
2024	185
2025	202

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1894	17.1 °C
1895	17.0 °C
1896	17.3 °C
1897	16.4 °C
1898	16.8 °C
1899	17.1 °C
1900	17.3 °C
1903	16.5 °C
1904	17.0 °C
1905	16.9 °C
1906	17.6 °C
1907	16.0 °C
1910	17.3 °C
1913	16.9 °C
1914	17.0 °C
1915	17.1 °C
1930	18.4 °C
1931	18.3 °C
1932	17.6 °C
1933	17.6 °C
1934	18.4 °C
1935	17.4 °C
1936	17.4 °C
1937	17.8 °C
1938	17.7 °C
1939	17.3 °C
1940	16.6 °C
1941	18.6 °C
1943	17.7 °C
1944	18.5 °C
1945	18.1 °C
1946	16.8 °C
1947	17.5 °C
1948	17.6 °C
1949	18.7 °C
1954	16.3 °C
1955	18.1 °C
1956	16.0 °C
1957	17.3 °C
1958	16.6 °C
1959	18.4 °C
1961	17.4 °C
1962	16.0 °C
1963	16.5 °C
1964	16.6 °C
1966	15.7 °C
1967	15.4 °C
1968	15.8 °C
1969	16.7 °C
1970	16.6 °C
1971	16.4 °C
1972	15.8 °C
1973	17.4 °C
1974	16.0 °C
1975	16.5 °C
1976	17.0 °C
1977	16.6 °C
1978	15.9 °C
1979	16.7 °C
1980	17.0 °C
1981	17.3 °C
1982	16.2 °C
1983	17.6 °C
1984	17.1 °C
1985	17.1 °C
1986	16.7 °C
1987	17.4 °C
1988	17.6 °C
1989	17.1 °C
1991	18.2 °C
1992	16.3 °C
1993	17.6 °C
1994	17.5 °C
1996	16.5 °C
1997	16.2 °C
1998	17.4 °C
1999	18.5 °C
2000	16.9 °C
2001	18.0 °C
2003	17.0 °C
2004	15.2 °C
2005	17.2 °C
2006	17.2 °C
2007	16.9 °C
2008	17.0 °C
2009	17.2 °C
2010	19.5 °C
2011	18.6 °C
2012	18.6 °C
2013	18.3 °C
2014	17.9 °C
2015	18.7 °C
2016	18.5 °C
2017	18.1 °C
2018	18.6 °C
2019	18.1 °C
2021	19.9 °C
2022	20.1 °C
2023	19.6 °C
2024	19.7 °C
2025	19.5 °C

What this means for you: Since 1894, Bridgewater'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 Brockton (NOAA GHCN-Daily). Years with too many missing days are left out.

Nearby towns

West Bridgewater East Bridgewater Halifax Raynham Raynham Center Whitman