When to plant in Hillsdale, MI

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

Safe to plant out

May 24

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 9

1 year in 10 by Sep 22

Frost-free days

160

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Hillsdale · 1.9 km away · station 329 m, town 341 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 29 – Apr 12	May 24 – Jun 7	Jul 18
Sweet pepper	Mar 15 – Mar 29	May 24 – Jun 7	Jul 23
Lettuce (leaf)	Mar 3 – Mar 10	Apr 7 – Apr 21	May 17
Peas	—	Apr 7 – May 5	Jun 1
Bush beans	—	May 17 – Jun 7	Jul 6
Carrot	—	Apr 17 – May 29	Jun 16
Beet	—	Apr 17 – May 29	Jun 6
Potato	—	Apr 17 – May 8	Jun 26
Kale	Mar 3 – Mar 17	Apr 14 – Apr 28	May 27
Broccoli	Feb 24 – Mar 10	Apr 7 – Apr 28	Jun 6
Cucumber	Apr 26 – May 3	May 24 – Jun 7	Jul 13
Summer squash and zucchini	Apr 26 – May 3	May 24 – Jun 7	Jul 8
Winter squash	Apr 26 – May 3	May 24 – Jun 7	Aug 12
Sweet corn	—	May 17 – Jun 7	Jul 16
Onion (from sets)	—	Apr 7 – Apr 28	Jul 6
Garlic	—	Sep 25 – Oct 23 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Apr 7 – May 5	May 15
Basil	Apr 12 – Apr 26	May 24 – Jun 7	Jul 20

Plan all 65 crops for Hillsdale

Hillsdale'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
1898	Apr 27
1899	Apr 16
1900	May 6
1901	Apr 21
1902	May 28
1903	May 4
1904	May 16
1905	May 9
1908	May 3
1909	May 4
1910	May 14
1911	May 5
1912	Apr 25
1913	Jun 9
1914	May 1
1916	Apr 15
1917	May 10
1918	Apr 25
1919	Apr 27
1920	May 15
1921	May 17
1922	Apr 29
1923	May 14
1924	May 22
1925	May 27
1926	May 23
1928	May 13
1929	May 20
1930	Apr 26
1931	May 24
1932	May 2
1933	May 4
1934	Apr 28
1935	May 23
1936	May 20
1937	May 15
1938	May 13
1939	May 12
1940	May 3
1941	Apr 25
1942	May 5
1943	May 1
1944	May 6
1945	May 19
1946	May 13
1947	May 10
1948	May 8
1949	May 25
1950	May 8
1951	Apr 23
1952	Apr 26
1953	Apr 21
1954	May 21
1955	May 18
1956	May 24
1957	May 5
1958	May 26
1959	May 16
1960	May 8
1961	May 30
1962	Apr 20
1963	May 24
1964	Apr 25
1965	Apr 29
1966	May 31
1967	May 23
1968	May 18
1969	May 23
1970	May 18
1971	May 22
1972	Jun 11
1973	May 18
1974	May 10
1975	Apr 26
1976	May 19
1977	May 11
1978	May 3
1979	May 5
1980	May 9
1981	May 20
1982	Apr 28
1983	May 27
1984	May 31
1985	May 3
1986	May 4
1987	May 6
1988	May 4
1989	May 8
1990	May 3
1991	Apr 12
1992	May 28
1993	Apr 27
1994	May 27
1995	May 6
1996	May 14
1997	May 16
1998	Apr 28
2000	Apr 28
2001	Apr 29
2002	May 19
2005	May 4
2008	May 28
2009	May 18
2010	Mar 31
2011	Apr 20
2012	Apr 30
2013	May 13
2014	May 16
2015	Apr 29
2016	Apr 14
2017	May 13
2018	Apr 30
2019	Apr 24
2020	May 13
2021	May 13
2022	Apr 27
2023	Apr 26
2024	Apr 25
2025	May 9
2026	May 3

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1898	170
1899	150
1900	134
1901	150
1902	141
1903	160
1904	139
1908	151
1909	160
1910	148
1911	171
1912	165
1913	105
1914	176
1916	156
1917	123
1918	149
1919	167
1920	166
1921	148
1922	166
1923	143
1924	151
1925	132
1926	125
1928	137
1929	121
1930	174
1931	146
1932	164
1933	161
1934	167
1935	127
1936	127
1937	124
1938	146
1939	136
1940	145
1941	182
1942	142
1943	145
1944	139
1945	136
1946	112
1947	135
1948	159
1949	151
1950	138
1951	158
1952	150
1953	154
1954	124
1955	116
1956	118
1957	144
1958	128
1959	123
1960	128
1961	121
1962	152
1963	141
1964	140
1965	157
1966	107
1967	122
1968	139
1969	144
1970	133
1971	124
1972	119
1973	153
1974	135
1975	140
1976	125
1977	148
1978	158
1979	140
1980	147
1981	125
1982	171
1983	119
1984	122
1986	164
1988	154
1989	138
1990	161
1991	161
1992	123
1993	155
1994	135
1995	139
1996	141
1997	152
1998	175
2001	160
2002	147
2008	128
2009	135
2010	204
2011	184
2012	160
2013	161
2014	146
2015	170
2016	193
2017	166
2018	168
2019	173
2020	128
2021	162
2022	162
2023	178
2024	175
2025	168

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1897	16.5 °C
1898	17.2 °C
1899	17.4 °C
1900	17.9 °C
1901	17.2 °C
1902	16.1 °C
1903	16.1 °C
1904	15.8 °C
1905	17.1 °C
1906	18.1 °C
1908	17.5 °C
1909	16.1 °C
1910	16.5 °C
1911	17.8 °C
1912	17.3 °C
1913	17.6 °C
1914	17.8 °C
1916	17.5 °C
1920	16.2 °C
1921	19.2 °C
1922	18.2 °C
1923	16.9 °C
1924	15.3 °C
1925	17.7 °C
1926	16.2 °C
1928	16.3 °C
1929	16.8 °C
1930	18.2 °C
1931	18.4 °C
1932	17.4 °C
1933	18.6 °C
1934	19.0 °C
1935	16.7 °C
1936	18.3 °C
1937	17.4 °C
1938	17.6 °C
1939	17.9 °C
1940	16.6 °C
1941	18.9 °C
1942	17.8 °C
1943	17.1 °C
1944	17.6 °C
1945	16.4 °C
1946	16.9 °C
1947	17.1 °C
1948	17.6 °C
1949	17.5 °C
1950	15.9 °C
1951	16.2 °C
1952	17.2 °C
1953	17.0 °C
1954	17.0 °C
1955	18.5 °C
1956	16.4 °C
1957	16.8 °C
1958	16.3 °C
1959	18.2 °C
1960	16.6 °C
1961	16.5 °C
1962	17.0 °C
1963	16.2 °C
1964	17.4 °C
1965	16.6 °C
1966	15.7 °C
1967	15.8 °C
1968	16.5 °C
1969	16.6 °C
1970	17.2 °C
1971	16.7 °C
1972	16.1 °C
1973	17.2 °C
1974	16.4 °C
1975	16.6 °C
1976	16.1 °C
1977	17.7 °C
1978	16.7 °C
1979	16.0 °C
1980	16.9 °C
1981	16.3 °C
1982	16.5 °C
1983	16.0 °C
1984	15.6 °C
1985	16.9 °C
1986	17.1 °C
1988	17.6 °C
1989	15.7 °C
1990	16.0 °C
1991	17.8 °C
1992	14.8 °C
1993	16.0 °C
1994	16.3 °C
1995	16.7 °C
1996	15.8 °C
1997	15.2 °C
1998	17.7 °C
2000	16.2 °C
2002	17.4 °C
2008	16.9 °C
2009	16.2 °C
2010	19.0 °C
2011	17.3 °C
2012	17.7 °C
2013	16.8 °C
2014	16.5 °C
2015	17.1 °C
2016	17.6 °C
2017	17.0 °C
2018	17.3 °C
2019	17.2 °C
2020	16.8 °C
2021	17.8 °C
2022	17.2 °C
2023	17.1 °C
2024	18.6 °C
2025	17.8 °C

What this means for you: Since 1898, Hillsdale's last spring frost has stayed at about the same time of year. Year-to-year swings are large, so keep using the safe date rather than the trend.

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

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