When to plant in Summerfield, MD

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

Safe to plant out

May 18

1 year in 10 has a later frost

Average last frost

Apr 26

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Oct 14

1 year in 10 by Oct 2

Frost-free days

176

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Glenn Dale Bell Stn · 9.1 km away · station 46 m, town 64 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 23 – Apr 6	May 18 – Jun 1	Jul 12
Sweet pepper	Mar 9 – Mar 23	May 18 – Jun 1	Jul 17
Lettuce (leaf)	Feb 22 – Mar 1	Mar 29 – Apr 12	May 8
Peas	—	Mar 15 – Apr 12	May 9
Bush beans	—	May 11 – Jun 1	Jun 30
Carrot	—	Apr 5 – May 17	Jun 4
Beet	—	Mar 29 – May 10	May 18
Potato	—	Apr 5 – Apr 26	Jun 14
Kale	Feb 15 – Mar 1	Mar 29 – Apr 12	May 11
Broccoli	Feb 15 – Mar 1	Mar 29 – Apr 19	May 28
Cucumber	Apr 20 – Apr 27	May 18 – Jun 1	Jul 7
Summer squash and zucchini	Apr 20 – Apr 27	May 18 – Jun 1	Jul 2
Winter squash	Apr 20 – Apr 27	May 18 – Jun 1	Aug 6
Sweet corn	—	May 11 – Jun 1	Jul 10
Onion (from sets)	—	Mar 29 – Apr 19	Jun 27
Garlic	—	Sep 30 – Oct 28 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Mar 15 – Apr 12	Apr 22
Basil	Apr 6 – Apr 20	May 18 – Jun 1	Jul 14

Plan all 65 crops for Summerfield

Summerfield'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
1921	Apr 12
1922	May 1
1923	May 11
1924	May 5
1925	May 27
1926	May 5
1927	May 1
1928	May 14
1929	May 17
1930	Jun 1
1931	May 5
1932	May 3
1933	Apr 28
1934	Apr 29
1935	Apr 26
1936	Apr 27
1937	May 1
1938	Apr 25
1939	May 15
1940	Apr 29
1941	May 13
1942	Apr 22
1943	May 5
1944	Apr 29
1945	May 2
1946	Apr 28
1947	May 11
1948	Apr 23
1949	Apr 29
1950	May 9
1951	Apr 24
1952	Apr 10
1953	Apr 22
1954	May 5
1955	Apr 8
1956	May 25
1957	May 5
1958	Apr 10
1959	Apr 14
1960	May 2
1961	May 5
1962	May 10
1963	May 3
1964	Apr 27
1965	Apr 17
1966	May 11
1967	Apr 29
1968	May 8
1969	Apr 25
1970	May 7
1971	May 1
1972	May 11
1973	Apr 16
1974	May 8
1975	Apr 23
1976	Apr 14
1977	Apr 30
1978	May 2
1979	May 2
1980	Apr 18
1981	Apr 26
1982	Apr 29
1983	May 17
1984	May 17
1985	May 4
1986	May 4
1987	Apr 29
1988	Apr 26
1989	Apr 24
1990	Apr 19
1991	Apr 12
1992	May 21
1993	Apr 29
1994	Apr 23
1995	Apr 6
1996	May 14
1997	May 8
1998	Apr 28
1999	Apr 25
2000	Apr 14
2001	Apr 29
2002	May 22
2003	Mar 31
2004	Apr 16
2005	May 4
2006	Apr 10

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1921	183
1922	170
1923	149
1924	157
1925	136
1926	156
1927	166
1928	133
1929	140
1930	121
1931	160
1932	161
1933	168
1934	166
1935	156
1936	180
1937	160
1938	165
1939	152
1940	150
1941	151
1942	159
1943	152
1944	169
1945	154
1946	169
1947	138
1948	175
1949	180
1950	164
1951	157
1952	176
1953	168
1954	155
1955	197
1956	118
1957	159
1958	178
1959	184
1960	171
1961	152
1962	133
1963	143
1964	161
1965	170
1966	148
1967	166
1968	149
1969	175
1970	162
1971	187
1972	151
1973	184
1974	138
1975	190
1976	180
1977	170
1978	149
1979	160
1980	178
1981	169
1982	170
1983	157
1984	169
1985	174
1986	164
1987	162
1989	166
1990	183
1991	178
1992	138
1993	154
1994	165
1995	206
1996	143
1997	146
1998	177
1999	182
2000	176
2001	161
2002	162
2003	185
2004	184
2005	176

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1921	20.9 °C
1922	20.0 °C
1923	19.4 °C
1924	18.3 °C
1925	20.0 °C
1926	19.4 °C
1927	18.0 °C
1928	18.7 °C
1929	19.6 °C
1930	20.6 °C
1931	20.2 °C
1932	19.4 °C
1933	20.3 °C
1934	20.4 °C
1935	19.0 °C
1936	20.1 °C
1937	19.7 °C
1938	19.9 °C
1939	20.1 °C
1940	18.8 °C
1941	20.1 °C
1942	20.5 °C
1943	20.3 °C
1944	20.5 °C
1945	20.2 °C
1946	19.3 °C
1947	20.0 °C
1948	19.9 °C
1949	20.1 °C
1950	18.9 °C
1951	19.7 °C
1952	20.1 °C
1953	20.4 °C
1954	20.3 °C
1955	20.8 °C
1956	19.4 °C
1957	20.8 °C
1958	19.6 °C
1959	20.9 °C
1960	20.0 °C
1961	19.4 °C
1962	19.8 °C
1963	19.4 °C
1964	19.9 °C
1965	20.2 °C
1966	19.6 °C
1967	19.0 °C
1968	19.4 °C
1969	20.3 °C
1970	20.5 °C
1971	19.6 °C
1972	19.4 °C
1973	20.4 °C
1974	19.9 °C
1975	19.8 °C
1976	19.7 °C
1977	20.2 °C
1978	19.6 °C
1979	19.3 °C
1980	20.4 °C
1981	19.9 °C
1982	19.0 °C
1983	19.6 °C
1984	19.3 °C
1985	20.1 °C
1986	20.1 °C
1987	20.5 °C
1989	19.6 °C
1990	19.6 °C
1991	21.4 °C
1992	18.9 °C
1993	20.0 °C
1994	21.1 °C
1995	21.6 °C
1996	20.2 °C
1998	21.3 °C
1999	20.1 °C
2000	19.4 °C
2001	19.6 °C
2002	21.0 °C
2003	19.7 °C
2004	20.6 °C
2005	20.1 °C
2006	20.2 °C

What this means for you: Since 1921, Summerfield'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 Glenn Dale Bell Stn (NOAA GHCN-Daily). Years with too many missing days are left out.

Nearby towns

Peppermill Village Glenarden Largo Lake Arbor Seat Pleasant Walker Mill