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When to plant in Clare, MI

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

Safe to plant out
May 14
1 year in 10 has a later frost
Average last frost
May 1
about a 50% chance of a later one
Average first fall frost
Oct 19
1 year in 10 by Oct 2
Frost-free days
169
median, 1991–2020

Station used: Central Michigan Univ · 26.0 km away · station 242 m, town 255 m. How we match towns to stations

This season

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Planting dates for common crops

CropStart indoorsPlant out or sowHarvest from
Tomato Mar 19 – Apr 2 May 14 – May 28 Jul 8
Sweet pepper Mar 5 – Mar 19 May 14 – May 28 Jul 13
Lettuce (leaf) Mar 6 – Mar 13 Apr 10 – Apr 24 May 20
Peas — Apr 10 – May 8 Jun 4
Bush beans — May 7 – May 28 Jun 26
Carrot — Apr 20 – Jun 1 Jun 19
Beet — Apr 20 – Jun 1 Jun 9
Potato — Apr 20 – May 11 Jun 29
Kale Mar 6 – Mar 20 Apr 17 – May 1 May 30
Broccoli Feb 27 – Mar 13 Apr 10 – May 1 Jun 9
Cucumber Apr 16 – Apr 23 May 14 – May 28 Jul 3
Summer squash and zucchini Apr 16 – Apr 23 May 14 – May 28 Jun 28
Winter squash Apr 16 – Apr 23 May 14 – May 28 Aug 2
Sweet corn — May 7 – May 28 Jul 6
Onion (from sets) — Apr 10 – May 1 Jul 9
Garlic — Oct 2 – Oct 30 (fall) following summer
Spinach — Apr 10 – May 8 May 18
Basil Apr 2 – Apr 16 May 14 – May 28 Jul 10

Plan all 65 crops for Clare

Clare's weather over time

How the growing season has shifted here, year by year, from the station's own records.

Apr 15May 1May 15Jun 1Jun 15Jul 1 1900191019201930194019501960197019801990200020102020
Each year's last spring frostLong-term trend
See the data as a table
YearLast spring frost
1896Apr 10
1897May 25
1898May 29
1899Apr 20
1900Jul 3
1902May 28
1903May 31
1908May 9
1909Jun 12
1910May 15
1912Jun 7
1913Jun 10
1917May 23
1918May 11
1919May 9
1920May 15
1921May 16
1922Apr 30
1923May 18
1924May 30
1925May 24
1926May 23
1927Jun 1
1928May 2
1929May 22
1930May 31
1931May 24
1932May 2
1933May 5
1934May 25
1935May 23
1936Apr 27
1937May 15
1938May 13
1939May 18
1940May 11
1941May 11
1942May 10
1943May 14
1944May 10
1945May 30
1946May 13
1948May 24
1949May 28
1950May 11
1951May 13
1952May 3
1953May 15
1954May 21
1955May 17
1956May 24
1957May 16
1958May 26
1959May 1
1960May 1
1961May 27
1962May 9
1963May 24
1964Apr 25
1965Apr 28
1966May 29
1967May 22
1968May 6
1969May 23
1970May 6
1971May 13
1972Apr 27
1973May 18
1974May 8
1975Apr 26
1976May 12
1977May 9
1979May 5
1980May 9
1981May 18
1982Apr 29
1983May 18
1984May 3
1985Apr 18
1986May 4
1987May 5
1988Apr 26
1989May 8
1991Apr 13
1992May 6
1993Apr 29
1994May 1
1995May 1
2000Apr 14
2003May 4
2005May 5
2006Apr 28
2009Apr 24
2010May 10
2011Apr 19
2012Apr 30
2013May 14
2014Apr 21
2016May 16
2017May 10
2018Apr 30
2019Apr 29
2020May 14
2021Apr 28
2022Apr 29
2023Apr 27
2024Apr 27
2025May 1
2026May 3

What this means for you: Since 1896, Clare's last spring frost has come about 2 days earlier per decade, on average. The frost-free season has grown by about 4 days per decade. Year-to-year swings are large, so keep using the safe date rather than the trend.

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

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