When to plant in West Cambridge/Harvard Square, MA

Planting dates worked out from West Cambridge/Harvard Square's own frost records, not a generic zone chart.

Safe to plant out

Apr 14

1 year in 10 has a later frost

Average last frost

Apr 3

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Nov 10

1 year in 10 by Oct 31

Frost-free days

219

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Boston · 9.1 km away · station 3 m, town 3 m. How we match towns to stations

This season

Plan your garden.

Build my West Cambridge/Harvard Square plan

Planting dates for common crops

Crop	Start indoors	Plant out or sow	Harvest from
Tomato	Mar 6 – Mar 20	May 1 – May 15	Jun 25
Sweet pepper	Feb 20 – Mar 6	May 1 – May 15	Jun 30
Lettuce (leaf)	Feb 23 – Mar 2	Mar 30 – Apr 13	May 9
Peas	—	Mar 30 – Apr 27	May 24
Bush beans	—	Apr 25 – May 16	Jun 14
Carrot	—	Apr 8 – May 20	Jun 7
Beet	—	Apr 8 – May 20	May 28
Potato	—	Apr 8 – Apr 29	Jun 17
Kale	Feb 23 – Mar 9	Apr 6 – Apr 20	May 19
Broccoli	Feb 16 – Mar 2	Mar 30 – Apr 20	May 29
Cucumber	Apr 3 – Apr 10	May 1 – May 15	Jun 20
Summer squash and zucchini	Apr 3 – Apr 10	May 1 – May 15	Jun 15
Winter squash	Apr 3 – Apr 10	May 1 – May 15	Jul 20
Sweet corn	—	Apr 25 – May 16	Jun 24
Onion (from sets)	—	Mar 30 – Apr 20	Jun 28
Garlic	—	Oct 18 – Nov 15 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Mar 30 – Apr 27	May 7
Basil	Mar 20 – Apr 3	May 1 – May 15	Jun 27

Plan all 65 crops for West Cambridge/Harvard Square

West Cambridge/Harvard Square'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
1936	Apr 25
1937	Apr 3
1938	Apr 11
1939	Apr 17
1940	Apr 22
1941	Apr 7
1942	Apr 11
1943	Apr 16
1944	Apr 6
1945	Mar 23
1946	Apr 1
1947	Apr 28
1948	Apr 18
1949	Mar 21
1950	Apr 10
1951	Mar 27
1952	Mar 17
1953	Apr 14
1954	Apr 5
1955	Mar 29
1956	Apr 12
1957	Apr 15
1958	Apr 9
1959	Mar 30
1960	Apr 11
1961	Apr 13
1962	Apr 16
1963	Apr 5
1964	Apr 6
1965	Apr 3
1966	Mar 29
1967	Apr 13
1968	Apr 6
1969	Apr 3
1970	Apr 6
1971	Apr 17
1972	Apr 9
1973	Apr 14
1974	Apr 10
1975	Apr 10
1976	Apr 12
1977	Apr 11
1978	Apr 3
1979	Mar 28
1980	Mar 19
1981	Apr 22
1982	Apr 9
1983	Mar 31
1984	Apr 22
1985	Apr 10
1986	Mar 25
1987	Apr 29
1988	Mar 23
1989	Apr 23
1990	Apr 14
1991	Mar 31
1992	Apr 14
1993	Mar 23
1994	Mar 21
1995	Apr 10
1996	Apr 4
1997	Apr 11
1998	Mar 25
1999	Apr 5
2000	Mar 23
2001	Apr 3
2002	Apr 7
2003	Apr 18
2004	Apr 6
2005	Mar 27
2006	Mar 22
2007	Apr 8
2008	Mar 31
2009	Mar 26
2010	Mar 28
2011	Mar 29
2012	Mar 27
2013	Apr 7
2014	Apr 18
2015	Apr 5
2016	Apr 10
2017	Mar 26
2018	Apr 11
2019	Apr 2
2020	Apr 18
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
1936	183
1937	196
1938	218
1939	183
1940	179
1941	201
1942	214
1943	211
1944	207
1945	244
1946	228
1947	198
1948	224
1949	229
1950	224
1951	221
1952	217
1953	204
1954	217
1955	234
1956	211
1957	208
1958	226
1959	231
1960	193
1961	210
1962	196
1963	233
1964	226
1965	208
1966	215
1967	209
1968	237
1969	202
1970	231
1971	204
1972	193
1973	209
1974	191
1975	235
1976	196
1977	228
1978	223
1979	195
1980	228
1981	204
1982	215
1983	212
1984	194
1985	218
1986	224
1987	190
1988	221
1989	194
1990	208
1991	222
1992	201
1993	234
1994	246
1995	212
1996	222
1997	194
1998	225
1999	216
2000	241
2001	222
2002	206
2003	203
2004	216
2005	229
2006	243
2007	214
2008	216
2009	254
2010	219
2011	239
2012	223
2013	210
2014	210
2015	196
2016	223
2017	228
2018	216
2019	219
2020	194
2021	233
2022	232
2023	222
2024	233

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1936	17.1 °C
1937	17.6 °C
1938	17.4 °C
1939	17.2 °C
1940	16.4 °C
1941	18.1 °C
1942	17.8 °C
1943	17.4 °C
1944	18.2 °C
1945	17.8 °C
1946	17.1 °C
1947	17.6 °C
1948	17.5 °C
1949	19.0 °C
1950	17.2 °C
1951	18.0 °C
1952	18.8 °C
1953	18.3 °C
1954	17.3 °C
1955	18.8 °C
1956	16.9 °C
1957	18.5 °C
1958	17.3 °C
1959	18.6 °C
1960	18.1 °C
1961	17.8 °C
1962	17.3 °C
1963	17.8 °C
1964	16.8 °C
1965	17.0 °C
1966	17.6 °C
1967	16.5 °C
1968	17.6 °C
1969	18.1 °C
1970	18.3 °C
1971	17.9 °C
1972	17.3 °C
1973	18.4 °C
1974	17.3 °C
1975	18.1 °C
1976	19.1 °C
1977	18.8 °C
1978	17.6 °C
1979	18.3 °C
1980	18.5 °C
1981	18.6 °C
1982	17.3 °C
1983	19.3 °C
1984	18.0 °C
1985	17.7 °C
1986	17.2 °C
1987	16.9 °C
1988	18.1 °C
1989	17.6 °C
1990	17.4 °C
1991	19.0 °C
1992	16.8 °C
1993	18.5 °C
1994	18.9 °C
1995	17.8 °C
1996	17.5 °C
1997	17.4 °C
1998	18.1 °C
1999	18.6 °C
2000	17.0 °C
2001	18.2 °C
2002	18.6 °C
2003	17.4 °C
2004	17.7 °C
2005	18.0 °C
2006	18.1 °C
2007	18.2 °C
2008	18.1 °C
2009	17.5 °C
2010	19.8 °C
2011	18.8 °C
2012	18.8 °C
2013	18.5 °C
2014	18.0 °C
2015	18.6 °C
2016	18.8 °C
2017	18.3 °C
2018	19.1 °C
2019	19.2 °C
2020	18.0 °C
2021	19.8 °C
2022	19.1 °C
2023	18.5 °C
2024	18.7 °C

What this means for you: Since 1936, West Cambridge/Harvard Square'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 Boston (NOAA GHCN-Daily). Years with too many missing days are left out.

Nearby towns

Lower Allston Cambridge Allston North Brighton Somerville West Somerville/Davis Square