When to plant in Norton Shores, MI

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

Safe to plant out

May 16

1 year in 10 has a later frost

Average last frost

May 6

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Oct 14

1 year in 10 by Sep 30

Frost-free days

162

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Muskegon Co Ap · 2.2 km away · station 190 m, town 187 m. How we match towns to stations

This season

Plan your garden.

Build my Norton Shores plan

Planting dates for common crops

Crop	Start indoors	Plant out or sow	Harvest from
Tomato	Mar 21 – Apr 4	May 16 – May 30	Jul 10
Sweet pepper	Mar 7 – Mar 21	May 16 – May 30	Jul 15
Lettuce (leaf)	Mar 4 – Mar 11	Apr 8 – Apr 22	May 18
Peas	—	Apr 6 – May 4	May 31
Bush beans	—	May 9 – May 30	Jun 28
Carrot	—	Apr 17 – May 29	Jun 16
Beet	—	Apr 17 – May 29	Jun 6
Potato	—	Apr 17 – May 8	Jun 26
Kale	Mar 2 – Mar 16	Apr 13 – Apr 27	May 26
Broccoli	Feb 25 – Mar 11	Apr 8 – Apr 29	Jun 7
Cucumber	Apr 18 – Apr 25	May 16 – May 30	Jul 5
Summer squash and zucchini	Apr 18 – Apr 25	May 16 – May 30	Jun 30
Winter squash	Apr 18 – Apr 25	May 16 – May 30	Aug 4
Sweet corn	—	May 9 – May 30	Jul 8
Onion (from sets)	—	Apr 8 – Apr 29	Jul 7
Garlic	—	Sep 30 – Oct 28 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Apr 6 – May 4	May 14
Basil	Apr 4 – Apr 18	May 16 – May 30	Jul 12

Plan all 65 crops for Norton Shores

Norton Shores'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
1897	Apr 27
1898	Apr 12
1899	Apr 16
1900	May 9
1901	Apr 21
1902	May 10
1903	May 3
1904	Apr 22
1905	May 1
1906	May 20
1907	May 11
1908	Apr 19
1909	May 4
1910	May 14
1911	May 5
1912	May 19
1913	May 23
1915	Apr 17
1916	May 27
1917	Apr 28
1918	Apr 25
1919	Apr 25
1920	May 16
1921	May 2
1922	Apr 28
1923	May 13
1924	May 20
1925	Apr 16
1926	May 4
1927	Apr 23
1929	Apr 14
1930	May 26
1931	Apr 30
1932	May 1
1933	May 8
1934	May 12
1935	May 4
1936	May 14
1937	Apr 16
1938	Apr 23
1939	May 1
1940	May 4
1941	Apr 25
1942	May 10
1943	May 14
1944	Apr 28
1945	May 11
1946	May 13
1947	May 10
1948	Apr 17
1949	May 11
1950	May 8
1951	May 12
1952	May 7
1953	Apr 28
1954	May 8
1955	May 9
1956	May 24
1957	May 16
1958	May 23
1959	Apr 22
1960	Apr 28
1961	May 27
1962	Apr 20
1963	Apr 25
1964	Apr 24
1965	Apr 14
1966	May 13
1967	May 6
1968	May 6
1969	Apr 30
1970	May 7
1971	May 4
1972	Jun 11
1973	May 18
1974	May 10
1975	Apr 21
1976	May 19
1977	May 11
1978	May 3
1979	May 5
1980	May 9
1981	May 2
1982	Apr 28
1983	May 17
1984	May 16
1985	Apr 10
1986	May 3
1987	Apr 9
1988	Apr 25
1989	May 8
1990	Apr 18
1991	Apr 25
1992	Jun 22
1993	Apr 27
1994	May 8
1995	Apr 24
1996	May 13
1997	May 16
1998	Apr 28
1999	Apr 26
2000	Apr 22
2001	May 13
2002	May 21
2003	May 14
2004	May 5
2005	May 4
2006	Apr 26
2007	Apr 17
2008	May 19
2009	May 11
2010	May 10
2011	May 5
2012	Apr 29
2013	May 13
2014	May 16
2015	Apr 24
2016	Apr 12
2017	May 9
2018	Apr 30
2019	Apr 24
2020	May 13
2021	May 13
2022	Apr 28
2023	Apr 27
2024	Apr 25

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1897	172
1898	196
1899	167
1900	160
1901	179
1902	159
1903	173
1904	166
1905	176
1906	142
1907	142
1908	172
1909	154
1910	166
1911	174
1912	149
1913	149
1915	175
1916	153
1917	176
1918	189
1919	177
1920	165
1921	161
1922	174
1923	169
1924	166
1925	176
1926	168
1927	195
1929	154
1930	143
1931	208
1932	185
1933	167
1934	172
1935	154
1936	161
1937	180
1938	204
1939	179
1940	163
1941	168
1942	167
1943	165
1944	165
1945	141
1946	140
1947	137
1948	179
1949	140
1950	138
1951	118
1952	148
1953	161
1954	151
1955	165
1956	137
1957	134
1958	141
1959	178
1960	155
1961	164
1962	153
1963	187
1964	164
1965	173
1966	144
1967	165
1968	176
1969	174
1970	160
1971	180
1972	128
1973	152
1974	144
1975	173
1976	125
1977	148
1978	157
1979	161
1980	155
1981	152
1982	170
1983	153
1984	135
1985	188
1986	159
1987	184
1988	163
1989	137
1990	175
1991	154
1992	92
1993	155
1994	154
1995	151
1996	143
1997	156
1998	176
1999	159
2000	189
2001	146
2002	145
2003	140
2004	151
2005	176
2006	171
2007	193
2008	137
2009	142
2010	164
2011	168
2012	165
2013	181
2014	147
2015	176
2016	194
2017	168
2018	169
2019	176
2020	166
2021	166
2022	173
2023	186
2024	174

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1897	15.8 °C
1898	16.4 °C
1899	16.6 °C
1900	17.0 °C
1901	17.2 °C
1902	15.8 °C
1903	15.8 °C
1904	15.4 °C
1905	16.3 °C
1906	16.6 °C
1907	14.1 °C
1908	16.4 °C
1909	15.4 °C
1910	15.9 °C
1911	17.0 °C
1912	16.0 °C
1913	16.3 °C
1914	16.7 °C
1915	14.9 °C
1916	15.8 °C
1917	13.7 °C
1918	14.5 °C
1919	16.4 °C
1920	14.5 °C
1921	17.1 °C
1922	15.6 °C
1923	15.6 °C
1924	14.0 °C
1925	15.8 °C
1926	15.2 °C
1927	14.8 °C
1929	14.5 °C
1930	15.4 °C
1931	16.7 °C
1932	16.5 °C
1933	16.8 °C
1934	15.5 °C
1935	15.6 °C
1936	15.1 °C
1937	16.4 °C
1938	15.9 °C
1939	15.8 °C
1940	14.7 °C
1941	17.1 °C
1942	16.4 °C
1943	15.4 °C
1944	16.6 °C
1945	15.0 °C
1946	15.8 °C
1947	15.5 °C
1948	16.3 °C
1949	16.6 °C
1950	14.5 °C
1951	15.2 °C
1952	16.5 °C
1953	16.5 °C
1954	16.3 °C
1955	17.9 °C
1956	15.5 °C
1957	16.0 °C
1958	15.5 °C
1959	17.5 °C
1960	16.4 °C
1961	15.8 °C
1962	16.6 °C
1963	16.2 °C
1964	17.2 °C
1965	16.8 °C
1966	15.8 °C
1967	16.0 °C
1968	16.5 °C
1969	16.5 °C
1970	16.9 °C
1971	15.9 °C
1972	15.7 °C
1973	16.3 °C
1974	15.3 °C
1975	16.2 °C
1976	15.7 °C
1977	17.1 °C
1978	16.1 °C
1979	15.2 °C
1980	16.1 °C
1981	16.1 °C
1982	15.7 °C
1983	16.3 °C
1984	16.0 °C
1985	16.6 °C
1986	16.7 °C
1987	17.6 °C
1988	17.5 °C
1989	15.8 °C
1990	16.0 °C
1991	17.8 °C
1992	14.7 °C
1993	16.1 °C
1994	15.9 °C
1995	16.6 °C
1996	15.2 °C
1997	14.8 °C
1998	17.5 °C
1999	17.3 °C
2000	16.1 °C
2001	16.6 °C
2002	16.9 °C
2003	16.4 °C
2004	16.0 °C
2005	17.8 °C
2006	16.9 °C
2007	17.1 °C
2008	16.3 °C
2009	16.1 °C
2010	18.5 °C
2011	17.5 °C
2012	18.3 °C
2013	17.0 °C
2014	16.3 °C
2015	17.3 °C
2016	17.8 °C
2017	17.5 °C
2018	17.8 °C
2019	17.3 °C
2020	17.5 °C
2021	18.0 °C
2022	17.9 °C
2023	18.2 °C
2024	18.8 °C

What this means for you: Since 1897, Norton Shores'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 Muskegon Co Ap (NOAA GHCN-Daily). Years with too many missing days are left out.

Nearby towns

Roosevelt Park Muskegon Heights Muskegon North Muskegon Fruitport Ferrysburg