When to plant in Ovid, MI

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

Safe to plant out

May 19

1 year in 10 has a later frost

Average last frost

Apr 30

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Oct 13

1 year in 10 by Sep 29

Frost-free days

164

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Saint Johns · 14.9 km away · station 226 m, town 223 m. How we match towns to stations

This season

Plan your garden.

Build my Ovid plan

Planting dates for common crops

Crop	Start indoors	Plant out or sow	Harvest from
Tomato	Mar 24 – Apr 7	May 19 – Jun 2	Jul 13
Sweet pepper	Mar 10 – Mar 24	May 19 – Jun 2	Jul 18
Lettuce (leaf)	Mar 3 – Mar 10	Apr 7 – Apr 21	May 17
Peas	—	Apr 7 – May 5	Jun 1
Bush beans	—	May 12 – Jun 2	Jul 1
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 21 – Apr 28	May 19 – Jun 2	Jul 8
Summer squash and zucchini	Apr 21 – Apr 28	May 19 – Jun 2	Jul 3
Winter squash	Apr 21 – Apr 28	May 19 – Jun 2	Aug 7
Sweet corn	—	May 12 – Jun 2	Jul 11
Onion (from sets)	—	Apr 7 – Apr 28	Jul 6
Garlic	—	Sep 29 – Oct 27 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Apr 7 – May 5	May 15
Basil	Apr 7 – Apr 21	May 19 – Jun 2	Jul 15

Plan all 65 crops for Ovid

Ovid'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
1894	May 28
1895	May 21
1896	Apr 22
1897	Apr 27
1898	May 16
1899	Apr 16
1900	May 5
1901	Apr 21
1902	May 29
1903	May 4
1905	May 9
1907	May 28
1939	May 18
1943	May 14
1944	Apr 30
1945	May 19
1946	May 17
1947	May 10
1948	May 8
1949	Jun 8
1950	May 8
1951	May 13
1952	May 16
1953	Apr 28
1954	May 26
1955	May 17
1956	May 24
1957	May 5
1958	May 26
1961	May 27
1962	Apr 20
1963	May 23
1964	Apr 26
1965	Apr 29
1966	May 29
1967	May 12
1968	May 6
1969	May 26
1970	May 6
1971	May 12
1972	Apr 27
1973	May 18
1974	May 7
1975	Apr 21
1976	May 12
1977	May 10
1978	May 3
1979	May 5
1980	May 9
1982	Apr 29
1983	May 9
1984	May 16
1985	May 29
1986	May 5
1987	May 4
1988	Apr 25
1989	May 8
1990	Apr 19
1991	Apr 20
1992	May 26
1993	Apr 30
1994	May 1
1995	Apr 26
1997	May 16
1998	Apr 29
1999	Apr 25
2000	Apr 28
2001	Apr 20
2002	May 19
2003	May 21
2004	May 5
2005	May 5
2006	Apr 28
2007	Apr 18
2008	May 1
2009	Apr 24
2010	Mar 31
2011	Apr 19
2012	Apr 30

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1894	138
1895	139
1896	153
1897	180
1898	151
1899	166
1901	164
1902	133
1905	164
1939	135
1943	132
1944	164
1945	133
1946	108
1947	135
1948	148
1949	112
1950	138
1951	138
1952	139
1953	138
1954	119
1955	157
1956	118
1957	144
1958	127
1961	124
1962	186
1963	158
1964	161
1965	150
1966	129
1967	160
1968	172
1969	141
1970	162
1971	175
1972	164
1973	153
1974	137
1975	163
1976	134
1977	149
1978	157
1979	157
1983	153
1985	126
1986	156
1989	139
1990	186
1991	160
1992	125
1993	157
1994	163
1995	149
1997	154
1998	175
2000	161
2001	169
2002	147
2003	133
2004	152
2005	173
2006	166
2007	189
2008	173
2009	170
2010	214
2011	192
2012	187

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1894	17.4 °C
1895	18.6 °C
1896	17.8 °C
1897	16.7 °C
1899	17.2 °C
1901	17.9 °C
1902	16.6 °C
1903	16.5 °C
1905	16.9 °C
1907	15.0 °C
1939	17.0 °C
1942	17.1 °C
1943	15.9 °C
1944	17.2 °C
1945	16.0 °C
1946	16.6 °C
1947	16.5 °C
1948	17.1 °C
1949	17.1 °C
1950	15.6 °C
1951	16.0 °C
1952	17.2 °C
1953	17.2 °C
1954	16.6 °C
1955	18.4 °C
1956	16.0 °C
1957	16.6 °C
1958	16.5 °C
1961	16.9 °C
1962	17.5 °C
1963	17.1 °C
1964	17.8 °C
1965	17.0 °C
1966	16.5 °C
1967	16.4 °C
1968	17.4 °C
1969	16.9 °C
1970	18.1 °C
1971	17.6 °C
1972	16.5 °C
1973	17.5 °C
1974	16.6 °C
1975	16.8 °C
1976	17.2 °C
1977	18.4 °C
1978	17.7 °C
1979	17.0 °C
1980	17.5 °C
1983	17.7 °C
1986	16.2 °C
1987	17.5 °C
1988	18.4 °C
1989	16.5 °C
1990	16.7 °C
1991	17.3 °C
1992	15.0 °C
1993	16.1 °C
1994	16.5 °C
1995	16.6 °C
1996	15.9 °C
1997	15.3 °C
1998	18.4 °C
1999	17.6 °C
2000	16.2 °C
2001	17.2 °C
2002	17.3 °C
2003	16.1 °C
2004	16.6 °C
2006	17.1 °C
2007	17.0 °C
2008	16.7 °C
2009	16.2 °C
2010	19.5 °C
2011	18.2 °C
2012	18.2 °C

What this means for you: Since 1894, Ovid's last spring frost has come about 1 day earlier per decade, on average. 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 Saint Johns (NOAA GHCN-Daily). Years with too many missing days are left out.

Nearby towns

Laingsburg Saint Johns Owosso New Haven Corunna Bath