When to plant in Frankfort, MI

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

Safe to plant out

May 21

1 year in 10 has a later frost

Average last frost

May 3

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Oct 20

1 year in 10 by Oct 3

Frost-free days

171

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Frankfort 2ne · 2.6 km away · station 289 m, town 182 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 26 – Apr 9	May 21 – Jun 4	Jul 15
Sweet pepper	Mar 12 – Mar 26	May 21 – Jun 4	Jul 20
Lettuce (leaf)	Mar 10 – Mar 17	Apr 14 – Apr 28	May 24
Peas	—	Apr 14 – May 12	Jun 8
Bush beans	—	May 14 – Jun 4	Jul 3
Carrot	—	Apr 23 – Jun 4	Jun 22
Beet	—	Apr 23 – Jun 4	Jun 12
Potato	—	Apr 23 – May 14	Jul 2
Kale	Mar 10 – Mar 24	Apr 21 – May 5	Jun 3
Broccoli	Mar 3 – Mar 17	Apr 14 – May 5	Jun 13
Cucumber	Apr 23 – Apr 30	May 21 – Jun 4	Jul 10
Summer squash and zucchini	Apr 23 – Apr 30	May 21 – Jun 4	Jul 5
Winter squash	Apr 23 – Apr 30	May 21 – Jun 4	Aug 9
Sweet corn	—	May 14 – Jun 4	Jul 13
Onion (from sets)	—	Apr 14 – May 5	Jul 13
Garlic	—	Oct 2 – Oct 30 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Apr 14 – May 12	May 22
Basil	Apr 9 – Apr 23	May 21 – Jun 4	Jul 17

Plan all 65 crops for Frankfort

Frankfort'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
1900	May 10
1903	Apr 30
1907	May 11
1908	Apr 30
1909	May 11
1910	May 14
1911	May 13
1912	Apr 28
1913	May 11
1914	Apr 21
1915	May 27
1916	May 12
1917	May 29
1918	Jun 23
1919	May 19
1920	May 16
1921	Jun 5
1922	Apr 30
1923	May 13
1924	May 20
1925	Jun 10
1926	Jun 19
1927	Jun 1
1928	Jun 15
1929	May 26
1930	May 31
1931	May 26
1932	Apr 27
1933	May 10
1934	May 26
1935	May 24
1936	Jun 22
1937	Jun 11
1938	May 13
1939	May 18
1944	May 7
1945	May 30
1946	Jun 14
1947	May 29
1951	May 13
1952	May 16
1965	Apr 28
1966	May 11
1967	May 22
1968	May 11
1969	May 26
1970	May 7
1971	May 14
1972	May 9
1973	May 18
1974	May 11
1975	Apr 26
1976	May 19
1977	May 10
1978	May 3
1979	Jun 24
1980	Apr 25
1981	May 10
1982	Apr 28
1983	May 17
1984	May 2
1985	Apr 27
1986	May 3
1987	Apr 9
1988	Apr 22
1989	May 8
1990	May 11
1991	Apr 21
1992	May 26
1993	Apr 27
1995	Apr 23
1996	May 13
1997	May 22
1998	Apr 28
1999	Apr 25
2000	Apr 22
2001	Apr 19
2002	May 21
2003	May 3
2005	May 12
2006	May 6
2007	Apr 16
2008	Apr 30
2009	Apr 23
2011	May 2
2012	Apr 22
2013	May 13
2015	May 20
2017	May 9
2018	Apr 29
2019	Apr 28
2020	May 12
2021	May 1
2023	May 2
2024	Apr 25
2025	Apr 30
2026	May 11

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1907	162
1908	187
1909	169
1910	166
1911	169
1912	186
1913	180
1914	187
1915	135
1916	140
1917	127
1918	95
1919	129
1920	142
1921	149
1922	165
1923	124
1924	153
1925	106
1926	110
1927	128
1928	103
1929	116
1930	139
1931	139
1932	150
1933	162
1934	94
1935	126
1936	94
1937	100
1938	178
1939	149
1944	157
1945	122
1946	109
1951	148
1952	139
1965	151
1966	147
1967	137
1968	145
1969	148
1970	183
1971	175
1973	170
1975	186
1976	131
1979	121
1980	171
1981	146
1982	171
1983	162
1984	147
1985	166
1986	159
1987	185
1988	167
1989	138
1990	170
1991	159
1992	119
1993	166
1995	190
1996	143
1997	152
1998	188
1999	161
2000	158
2001	191
2002	148
2003	155
2005	187
2006	158
2007	199
2008	174
2009	171
2011	178
2012	196
2013	162
2015	177
2017	178
2018	171
2019	185
2020	167
2021	186
2023	181
2024	200
2025	191

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1907	12.8 °C
1908	15.1 °C
1909	13.9 °C
1911	15.0 °C
1912	13.4 °C
1913	13.5 °C
1914	14.2 °C
1915	13.5 °C
1916	14.6 °C
1917	11.7 °C
1918	12.5 °C
1919	14.6 °C
1920	12.5 °C
1921	16.3 °C
1922	14.6 °C
1923	14.8 °C
1924	12.4 °C
1925	13.7 °C
1927	13.1 °C
1928	12.0 °C
1929	12.3 °C
1930	13.8 °C
1931	14.9 °C
1932	14.6 °C
1933	15.0 °C
1934	12.9 °C
1935	12.7 °C
1936	13.3 °C
1937	13.7 °C
1938	14.3 °C
1939	15.1 °C
1940	13.8 °C
1944	16.1 °C
1945	14.1 °C
1946	14.8 °C
1947	15.0 °C
1949	17.1 °C
1952	15.1 °C
1965	14.1 °C
1966	14.3 °C
1967	13.9 °C
1968	14.8 °C
1969	14.4 °C
1970	15.3 °C
1971	14.6 °C
1972	13.4 °C
1973	15.2 °C
1974	13.7 °C
1975	14.6 °C
1976	14.2 °C
1980	15.1 °C
1982	14.0 °C
1983	15.2 °C
1985	15.2 °C
1987	16.0 °C
1990	14.6 °C
1991	16.4 °C
1992	13.8 °C
1993	14.6 °C
1995	15.8 °C
1996	14.1 °C
1997	14.2 °C
1998	16.9 °C
1999	16.6 °C
2000	15.2 °C
2001	16.7 °C
2003	15.5 °C
2005	17.3 °C
2006	16.4 °C
2007	17.1 °C
2008	15.5 °C
2009	14.7 °C
2010	17.0 °C
2011	15.8 °C
2012	17.1 °C
2013	15.2 °C
2014	14.4 °C
2015	15.8 °C
2016	16.6 °C
2017	15.9 °C
2018	16.2 °C
2019	14.9 °C
2020	15.7 °C
2021	16.5 °C
2022	16.2 °C
2023	16.6 °C
2024	16.9 °C
2025	16.3 °C
2026	16.3 °C

What this means for you: Since 1900, Frankfort's last spring frost has come about 2 days 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 Frankfort 2ne (NOAA GHCN-Daily). Years with too many missing days are left out.

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