When to plant in Harbor Beach, MI

Planting dates worked out from Harbor Beach'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 4

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Oct 21

1 year in 10 by Oct 6

Frost-free days

168

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Harbor Beach 1 Sse · 1.6 km away · station 181 m, town 185 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 17 – Mar 24	Apr 21 – May 5	May 31
Peas	—	Apr 21 – May 19	Jun 15
Bush beans	—	May 16 – Jun 6	Jul 5
Carrot	—	May 1 – Jun 12	Jun 30
Beet	—	May 1 – Jun 12	Jun 20
Potato	—	May 1 – May 22	Jul 10
Kale	Mar 17 – Mar 31	Apr 28 – May 12	Jun 10
Broccoli	Mar 10 – Mar 24	Apr 21 – May 12	Jun 20
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 16 – Jun 6	Jul 15
Onion (from sets)	—	Apr 21 – May 12	Jul 20
Garlic	—	Oct 1 – Oct 29 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Apr 21 – May 19	May 29
Basil	Apr 9 – Apr 23	May 21 – Jun 4	Jul 17

Plan all 65 crops for Harbor Beach

Harbor Beach'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
1901	Apr 21
1902	May 15
1903	May 8
1904	May 15
1905	May 9
1907	May 28
1908	May 4
1909	May 4
1910	Jun 4
1911	May 13
1912	May 4
1913	May 11
1914	May 2
1915	May 18
1918	Apr 25
1919	May 3
1920	May 15
1921	Apr 18
1922	Apr 30
1923	May 13
1924	May 20
1925	May 18
1926	May 4
1927	Apr 29
1928	May 13
1929	May 22
1930	Apr 27
1931	May 4
1932	May 3
1933	Apr 27
1935	May 23
1936	Apr 25
1937	May 10
1938	May 12
1939	May 18
1940	May 11
1942	May 10
1943	May 14
1944	Apr 29
1945	May 11
1946	May 13
1948	Apr 18
1949	Apr 25
1950	May 8
1951	May 14
1952	Apr 26
1953	Apr 29
1954	May 10
1955	Apr 8
1956	May 24
1957	May 17
1958	May 26
1959	May 16
1960	Apr 28
1961	May 10
1962	Apr 21
1963	May 23
1964	May 21
1965	Apr 29
1966	May 13
1967	May 23
1968	May 11
1969	May 26
1970	May 7
1971	May 13
1972	Apr 28
1973	May 18
1974	May 8
1975	Apr 22
1976	May 8
1977	Apr 29
1978	May 4
1979	May 5
1980	Apr 24
1981	May 19
1982	Apr 29
1983	May 26
1984	May 13
1985	Apr 29
1986	May 3
1987	May 4
1988	Apr 24
1989	Apr 23
1990	Apr 21
1991	Apr 17
1992	Apr 27
1993	Apr 26
1994	Apr 28
1995	Apr 30
1996	May 12
1997	May 13
1998	Apr 27
1999	Apr 29
2000	May 1
2001	Apr 29
2002	May 21
2003	May 4
2004	May 4
2005	May 4
2006	Apr 29
2007	May 21
2008	May 12
2009	May 18
2010	May 10
2012	Apr 29
2014	May 6
2015	Apr 26
2016	Apr 27
2017	May 9
2018	Apr 30
2019	May 11
2020	May 13
2021	May 1
2022	Apr 29
2023	May 18
2024	Apr 26
2025	Apr 18
2026	May 12

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1900	152
1901	148
1902	154
1903	142
1904	129
1905	166
1907	127
1909	146
1910	145
1912	164
1913	165
1914	176
1915	136
1918	159
1919	133
1920	167
1921	177
1922	165
1923	146
1924	155
1925	144
1926	144
1927	187
1928	135
1929	135
1930	173
1931	181
1932	162
1933	180
1935	129
1936	169
1937	150
1938	142
1939	147
1940	157
1942	135
1943	143
1944	168
1945	151
1948	183
1949	182
1950	170
1951	137
1952	162
1953	161
1954	170
1955	199
1956	138
1957	161
1958	132
1959	154
1960	175
1961	169
1962	185
1963	163
1964	137
1965	166
1966	157
1967	149
1968	165
1969	148
1970	156
1971	174
1972	164
1973	153
1974	146
1975	186
1976	161
1977	170
1978	163
1979	158
1980	155
1981	153
1982	169
1983	151
1984	138
1985	158
1986	179
1988	171
1989	167
1990	180
1991	162
1992	171
1994	186
1995	168
1996	170
1997	161
1998	197
1999	186
2000	181
2001	160
2002	145
2003	149
2004	153
2005	177
2006	165
2007	159
2008	170
2010	164
2012	160
2014	179
2015	173
2016	183
2017	169
2020	167
2021	185
2022	197
2023	165
2024	183
2025	205

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1900	16.0 °C
1901	15.6 °C
1902	14.2 °C
1903	14.4 °C
1904	14.2 °C
1906	17.0 °C
1909	14.0 °C
1910	14.4 °C
1913	15.6 °C
1914	15.4 °C
1915	14.8 °C
1917	13.9 °C
1918	14.3 °C
1919	15.8 °C
1920	14.1 °C
1921	17.4 °C
1922	15.6 °C
1923	14.9 °C
1924	13.6 °C
1925	15.6 °C
1926	13.8 °C
1927	14.5 °C
1928	14.5 °C
1929	15.1 °C
1930	16.2 °C
1931	16.5 °C
1932	15.6 °C
1933	16.6 °C
1934	15.6 °C
1935	14.2 °C
1936	15.6 °C
1937	15.0 °C
1938	15.5 °C
1939	15.6 °C
1940	14.2 °C
1941	16.0 °C
1942	15.3 °C
1943	14.5 °C
1944	15.5 °C
1945	13.9 °C
1948	15.8 °C
1949	16.2 °C
1950	14.1 °C
1951	15.1 °C
1952	16.1 °C
1953	15.9 °C
1954	15.5 °C
1955	17.4 °C
1956	14.2 °C
1957	15.2 °C
1958	15.0 °C
1959	16.8 °C
1960	15.0 °C
1961	14.9 °C
1962	15.1 °C
1963	14.6 °C
1964	15.8 °C
1965	14.4 °C
1966	15.0 °C
1967	14.4 °C
1968	15.2 °C
1969	15.3 °C
1970	15.7 °C
1971	15.2 °C
1972	14.0 °C
1973	16.1 °C
1974	15.0 °C
1975	15.4 °C
1976	15.4 °C
1977	15.8 °C
1978	15.2 °C
1979	14.8 °C
1980	15.0 °C
1981	15.0 °C
1982	13.8 °C
1983	15.2 °C
1984	14.8 °C
1985	14.9 °C
1986	14.6 °C
1987	16.6 °C
1988	16.1 °C
1989	14.6 °C
1990	14.7 °C
1991	16.4 °C
1992	13.0 °C
1994	14.6 °C
1995	14.9 °C
1996	13.9 °C
1997	13.7 °C
1998	16.2 °C
1999	15.7 °C
2000	14.6 °C
2001	15.6 °C
2002	15.3 °C
2003	13.5 °C
2004	13.9 °C
2005	15.2 °C
2006	15.0 °C
2007	14.7 °C
2008	14.5 °C
2010	16.0 °C
2012	15.8 °C
2013	14.6 °C
2014	14.1 °C
2015	14.9 °C
2016	15.5 °C
2017	15.3 °C
2018	15.3 °C
2020	15.2 °C
2021	16.1 °C
2022	15.5 °C
2023	15.1 °C
2024	16.2 °C
2025	15.3 °C
2026	15.7 °C

What this means for you: Since 1900, Harbor Beach's last spring frost has stayed at about the same time of year. 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 Harbor Beach 1 Sse (NOAA GHCN-Daily). Years with too many missing days are left out.

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