When to plant in Aberdeen, MD

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

Safe to plant out

Apr 17

1 year in 10 has a later frost

Average last frost

Apr 8

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Oct 30

1 year in 10 by Oct 21

Frost-free days

207

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Chestertown · 34.0 km away · station 12 m, town 29 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	Feb 20 – Mar 6	Apr 17 – May 1	Jun 11
Sweet pepper	Feb 6 – Feb 20	Apr 17 – May 1	Jun 16
Lettuce (leaf)	Feb 6 – Feb 13	Mar 13 – Mar 27	Apr 22
Peas	—	Mar 13 – Apr 10	May 7
Bush beans	—	Apr 10 – May 1	May 30
Carrot	—	Mar 24 – May 5	May 23
Beet	—	Mar 24 – May 5	May 13
Potato	—	Mar 24 – Apr 14	Jun 2
Kale	Feb 6 – Feb 20	Mar 20 – Apr 3	May 2
Broccoli	Jan 30 – Feb 13	Mar 13 – Apr 3	May 12
Cucumber	Mar 20 – Mar 27	Apr 17 – May 1	Jun 6
Summer squash and zucchini	Mar 20 – Mar 27	Apr 17 – May 1	Jun 1
Winter squash	Mar 20 – Mar 27	Apr 17 – May 1	Jul 6
Sweet corn	—	Apr 10 – May 1	Jun 9
Onion (from sets)	—	Mar 13 – Apr 3	Jun 11
Garlic	—	Oct 16 – Nov 13 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Mar 13 – Apr 10	Apr 20
Basil	Mar 6 – Mar 20	Apr 17 – May 1	Jun 13

Plan all 65 crops for Aberdeen

Aberdeen'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
1895	Apr 12
1896	Apr 9
1897	Apr 21
1898	Apr 28
1899	Apr 10
1902	Apr 3
1903	May 1
1904	Apr 17
1905	Apr 19
1906	Apr 7
1907	Apr 21
1908	Apr 17
1909	Apr 12
1910	Mar 19
1911	Apr 12
1912	Apr 9
1913	Apr 8
1937	Apr 1
1938	Apr 11
1939	Apr 14
1940	Apr 23
1941	Apr 3
1942	Apr 14
1943	Apr 16
1944	Apr 6
1945	Apr 6
1946	Apr 11
1947	May 10
1948	Apr 18
1949	Apr 2
1950	Apr 16
1951	Mar 27
1952	Mar 18
1953	Mar 21
1954	Apr 10
1955	Mar 31
1956	Apr 25
1957	Apr 15
1958	Apr 9
1959	Apr 13
1960	Apr 11
1961	Apr 4
1962	Apr 17
1963	Mar 24
1964	Apr 5
1965	Apr 5
1966	Apr 5
1967	Apr 12
1968	Apr 7
1969	Apr 1
1970	Apr 6
1971	Apr 1
1972	Apr 9
1973	Apr 14
1974	Apr 11
1975	Apr 14
1976	Apr 12
1977	Apr 10
1978	Apr 9
1979	Apr 8
1980	Apr 17
1981	Mar 26
1982	Apr 8
1983	Apr 1
1984	Apr 2
1985	Apr 10
1986	Mar 25
1987	Apr 1
1988	Mar 23
1989	Apr 23
1990	Apr 13
1991	Apr 3
1992	Apr 4
1993	Apr 4
1994	Apr 8
1995	Apr 6
1996	Apr 9
1997	Apr 11
1998	Mar 25
1999	Mar 27
2000	Apr 14
2001	Apr 19
2002	Apr 7
2003	Apr 7
2004	Apr 6
2005	Apr 17
2006	Apr 30
2007	Apr 11
2008	Mar 30
2009	Apr 13
2010	Mar 28

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1896	198
1897	206
1898	182
1899	194
1902	208
1903	189
1904	196
1905	196
1906	208
1907	192
1908	198
1909	200
1910	224
1911	204
1912	207
1913	206
1937	196
1938	218
1939	184
1940	178
1941	208
1942	195
1943	208
1944	192
1945	212
1946	217
1947	183
1948	183
1949	217
1950	208
1951	220
1952	216
1953	229
1954	204
1955	219
1956	198
1957	195
1958	212
1959	198
1960	209
1961	219
1962	202
1963	245
1964	201
1965	206
1966	212
1967	200
1968	206
1969	204
1970	224
1971	219
1972	193
1973	206
1974	175
1975	199
1976	189
1977	216
1978	191
1979	184
1980	199
1981	207
1982	192
1983	211
1984	219
1985	235
1986	232
1987	207
1988	204
1989	194
1990	199
1991	200
1992	198
1993	213
1994	217
1995	212
1996	207
1997	194
1998	211
1999	222
2000	206
2001	172
2002	197
2003	199
2004	216
2005	193
2006	186
2007	210
2008	214
2009	207
2010	219

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1896	20.2 °C
1897	18.7 °C
1898	19.9 °C
1899	19.7 °C
1902	19.3 °C
1903	19.1 °C
1904	19.2 °C
1905	19.7 °C
1906	20.3 °C
1907	18.1 °C
1908	19.9 °C
1909	19.4 °C
1910	20.1 °C
1911	20.8 °C
1912	20.2 °C
1913	20.4 °C
1937	20.6 °C
1938	20.7 °C
1939	20.5 °C
1940	18.7 °C
1941	20.5 °C
1942	20.7 °C
1943	20.7 °C
1944	21.0 °C
1945	20.7 °C
1946	19.9 °C
1947	20.2 °C
1948	20.1 °C
1949	20.8 °C
1950	19.3 °C
1951	20.6 °C
1952	20.9 °C
1953	21.1 °C
1954	20.9 °C
1955	21.4 °C
1956	19.8 °C
1957	21.4 °C
1958	20.3 °C
1959	21.9 °C
1960	20.8 °C
1961	20.4 °C
1962	20.2 °C
1963	20.0 °C
1964	20.5 °C
1965	20.4 °C
1966	20.1 °C
1967	19.3 °C
1968	20.6 °C
1969	20.8 °C
1970	20.5 °C
1971	19.6 °C
1972	19.3 °C
1973	20.4 °C
1974	19.6 °C
1975	19.7 °C
1976	20.2 °C
1977	21.0 °C
1978	19.8 °C
1979	19.6 °C
1980	21.1 °C
1981	20.2 °C
1982	19.7 °C
1983	20.8 °C
1984	20.0 °C
1985	21.0 °C
1986	21.0 °C
1987	21.3 °C
1988	20.9 °C
1989	20.4 °C
1990	20.0 °C
1991	21.5 °C
1992	19.3 °C
1993	21.2 °C
1994	20.5 °C
1995	20.8 °C
1996	20.1 °C
1997	19.5 °C
1998	20.8 °C
1999	20.9 °C
2000	19.5 °C
2001	20.6 °C
2002	21.4 °C
2003	19.8 °C
2004	21.7 °C
2005	21.4 °C
2006	21.0 °C
2007	20.8 °C
2008	20.7 °C
2009	20.3 °C
2010	21.6 °C

What this means for you: Since 1895, Aberdeen'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 Chestertown (NOAA GHCN-Daily). Years with too many missing days are left out.

Nearby towns

Aberdeen Proving Ground Perryman Havre de Grace Riverside (near Bel Air South)Perryville Abingdon