When to plant in Bay Harbor, MI

Planting dates worked out from Bay Harbor'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

May 5

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Oct 16

1 year in 10 by Oct 1

Frost-free days

166

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Petoskey · 8.3 km away · station 183 m, town 202 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 27 – Apr 10	May 22 – Jun 5	Jul 16
Sweet pepper	Mar 13 – Mar 27	May 22 – Jun 5	Jul 21
Lettuce (leaf)	Mar 18 – Mar 25	Apr 22 – May 6	Jun 1
Peas	—	Apr 22 – May 20	Jun 16
Bush beans	—	May 16 – Jun 6	Jul 5
Carrot	—	May 2 – Jun 13	Jul 1
Beet	—	May 2 – Jun 13	Jun 21
Potato	—	May 2 – May 23	Jul 11
Kale	Mar 18 – Apr 1	Apr 29 – May 13	Jun 11
Broccoli	Mar 11 – Mar 25	Apr 22 – May 13	Jun 21
Cucumber	Apr 24 – May 1	May 22 – Jun 5	Jul 11
Summer squash and zucchini	Apr 24 – May 1	May 22 – Jun 5	Jul 6
Winter squash	Apr 24 – May 1	May 22 – Jun 5	Aug 10
Sweet corn	—	May 16 – Jun 6	Jul 15
Onion (from sets)	—	Apr 22 – May 13	Jul 21
Garlic	—	Sep 29 – Oct 27 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Apr 22 – May 20	May 30
Basil	Apr 10 – Apr 24	May 22 – Jun 5	Jul 18

Plan all 65 crops for Bay Harbor

Bay Harbor'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	May 28
1894	Jun 6
1895	May 21
1897	Jun 8
1898	May 6
1901	Apr 21
1903	May 4
1904	May 10
1906	May 27
1907	May 27
1908	May 28
1909	May 11
1911	May 4
1912	May 14
1913	May 11
1914	May 15
1915	May 27
1916	May 2
1917	May 10
1918	May 15
1919	Apr 30
1922	Apr 29
1923	May 18
1924	May 31
1925	May 27
1926	May 23
1927	Jun 1
1928	May 13
1929	May 25
1930	May 31
1931	May 24
1932	May 2
1933	May 11
1934	May 25
1935	May 23
1936	May 29
1937	May 19
1938	May 13
1939	May 18
1940	May 11
1941	May 18
1953	May 14
1954	May 26
1955	May 9
1956	May 24
1957	May 16
1958	May 26
1959	May 16
1960	Apr 28
1961	May 27
1962	May 9
1963	May 23
1964	Apr 24
1965	Apr 28
1966	May 13
1967	May 22
1968	May 10
1969	May 26
1970	Apr 12
1971	May 14
1972	May 10
1974	May 10
1975	Apr 26
1977	May 10
1978	May 3
1979	May 6
1980	Apr 25
1981	May 19
1982	May 9
1984	May 14
1985	Apr 27
1986	May 4
1989	May 9
1990	May 11
1991	May 8
1993	Apr 27
1994	May 13
1995	Apr 23
1996	May 13
1997	May 7
1998	Apr 28
1999	Apr 25
2000	May 20
2001	Apr 19
2002	May 18
2003	May 2
2004	Apr 27
2005	May 12
2006	May 6
2007	Apr 17
2008	May 28
2009	May 18
2010	May 10
2011	Apr 25
2012	Apr 29
2013	Apr 26
2014	May 17
2015	Apr 26
2016	Apr 23
2017	May 9
2018	Apr 30
2019	May 9
2020	May 13
2021	May 9
2022	Apr 29
2023	Apr 27
2024	Apr 26
2025	May 1
2026	May 12

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1894	110
1895	144
1897	75
1903	158
1904	149
1908	155
1911	146
1914	161
1915	135
1916	168
1917	151
1918	156
1922	148
1923	114
1924	114
1925	134
1926	137
1927	129
1928	138
1929	116
1930	139
1931	140
1932	180
1933	155
1934	138
1935	134
1936	118
1937	130
1938	146
1939	128
1940	157
1953	145
1954	133
1955	177
1956	139
1957	133
1958	138
1959	155
1960	178
1961	164
1962	164
1963	159
1964	164
1965	151
1966	156
1967	147
1968	172
1969	148
1970	189
1971	175
1972	152
1974	145
1975	186
1978	164
1979	156
1980	155
1981	136
1982	164
1984	169
1985	166
1986	158
1989	140
1990	153
1993	155
1994	172
1995	176
1996	143
1997	167
1998	188
1999	161
2000	130
2001	170
2002	147
2003	155
2004	193
2005	150
2006	141
2007	190
2008	141
2009	135
2010	146
2011	159
2012	187
2013	185
2014	157
2015	174
2016	185
2017	169
2018	174
2019	169
2020	166
2021	165
2022	163
2023	186
2024	189
2025	181

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1893	13.5 °C
1894	14.6 °C
1898	13.9 °C
1902	14.5 °C
1903	14.4 °C
1904	13.4 °C
1908	15.1 °C
1909	13.5 °C
1911	14.7 °C
1912	13.6 °C
1914	14.5 °C
1915	13.8 °C
1916	14.8 °C
1917	12.2 °C
1918	14.0 °C
1921	17.8 °C
1922	15.0 °C
1923	13.0 °C
1924	12.4 °C
1925	13.9 °C
1926	11.8 °C
1928	13.2 °C
1929	13.2 °C
1930	14.8 °C
1931	15.8 °C
1932	15.9 °C
1933	15.9 °C
1934	14.6 °C
1935	13.6 °C
1936	13.3 °C
1937	15.2 °C
1938	15.2 °C
1939	14.7 °C
1940	13.9 °C
1953	15.7 °C
1954	14.6 °C
1955	17.4 °C
1956	14.0 °C
1957	15.0 °C
1958	14.2 °C
1959	16.1 °C
1960	15.1 °C
1961	14.8 °C
1962	15.0 °C
1963	14.7 °C
1964	15.4 °C
1965	14.4 °C
1966	14.5 °C
1967	14.2 °C
1968	15.1 °C
1969	14.8 °C
1970	15.6 °C
1971	14.4 °C
1972	13.8 °C
1974	14.3 °C
1975	14.7 °C
1978	14.4 °C
1979	13.9 °C
1980	14.5 °C
1981	14.5 °C
1982	13.8 °C
1984	14.4 °C
1985	14.4 °C
1986	14.7 °C
1989	14.3 °C
1990	14.4 °C
1992	12.9 °C
1993	13.3 °C
1994	13.8 °C
1995	14.5 °C
1996	13.1 °C
1997	12.9 °C
1998	15.9 °C
1999	15.7 °C
2000	14.2 °C
2001	15.2 °C
2002	15.4 °C
2003	14.1 °C
2004	13.9 °C
2005	16.0 °C
2006	15.7 °C
2007	15.4 °C
2008	14.6 °C
2009	13.7 °C
2010	15.9 °C
2011	14.6 °C
2012	15.6 °C
2013	14.1 °C
2014	13.4 °C
2015	14.7 °C
2016	15.2 °C
2017	14.7 °C
2018	14.6 °C
2019	13.7 °C
2020	13.8 °C
2021	14.9 °C
2022	14.5 °C
2023	14.9 °C
2024	15.8 °C
2025	14.6 °C
2026	14.8 °C

What this means for you: Since 1893, Bay Harbor's last spring frost has come about 1 day earlier per decade, on average. The frost-free season has grown by about 3 days per decade. Year-to-year swings are large, so keep using the safe date rather than the trend.

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

Nearby towns

Petoskey Harbor Springs Charlevoix Boyne City East Jordan Indian River