When to plant in Columbus, MT

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

Safe to plant out

Jun 1

1 year in 10 has a later frost

Average last frost

May 20

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Sep 17

1 year in 10 by Sep 4

Frost-free days

118

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Columbus · 1.5 km away · station 1098 m, town 1093 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	Apr 6 – Apr 20	Jun 1 – Jun 15	Jul 26
Sweet pepper	Mar 23 – Apr 6	Jun 1 – Jun 15	Jul 31
Lettuce (leaf)	Mar 18 – Mar 25	Apr 22 – May 6	Jun 1
Peas	—	Apr 8 – May 6	Jun 2
Bush beans	—	May 25 – Jun 15	Jul 14
Carrot	—	Apr 29 – Jun 10	Jun 28
Beet	—	Apr 22 – Jun 3	Jun 11
Potato	—	Apr 29 – May 20	Jul 8
Kale	Mar 11 – Mar 25	Apr 22 – May 6	Jun 4
Broccoli	Mar 11 – Mar 25	Apr 22 – May 13	Jun 21
Cucumber	May 4 – May 11	Jun 1 – Jun 15	Jul 21
Summer squash and zucchini	May 4 – May 11	Jun 1 – Jun 15	Jul 16
Winter squash	May 4 – May 11	Jun 1 – Jun 15	Aug 20
Sweet corn	—	May 25 – Jun 15	Jul 24
Onion (from sets)	—	Apr 22 – May 13	Jul 21
Garlic	—	Sep 3 – Oct 1 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Apr 8 – May 6	May 16
Basil	Apr 20 – May 4	Jun 1 – Jun 15	Jul 28

Plan all 65 crops for Columbus

Columbus'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
1931	May 22
1932	May 27
1933	May 29
1934	May 22
1935	Jun 2
1936	May 18
1937	Jun 4
1938	Jun 11
1939	May 21
1940	May 14
1941	Jun 20
1942	May 19
1943	Jun 3
1944	May 8
1945	Jun 16
1946	May 20
1948	May 5
1949	May 9
1950	Jun 8
1951	Jun 4
1952	May 10
1953	May 18
1954	May 29
1955	May 7
1956	May 14
1957	May 24
1958	May 12
1959	May 23
1960	May 20
1961	May 8
1962	Jun 7
1963	May 22
1964	Jun 11
1965	May 21
1966	Jun 13
1967	May 15
1968	May 20
1969	May 22
1970	May 15
1971	May 11
1972	May 2
1973	May 22
1974	May 17
1975	May 26
1976	May 3
1977	May 5
1978	May 9
1979	Jun 8
1980	May 12
1981	May 14
1982	Jun 9
1983	May 31
1984	Jun 2
1985	May 14
1986	May 23
1987	Apr 21
1988	May 20
1989	May 26
1990	May 10
1991	May 5
1992	May 12
1993	May 9
1994	May 4
1995	May 25
1996	May 21
1997	May 19
1998	Jun 5
1999	May 17
2000	May 13
2001	May 21
2002	May 25
2003	May 20
2004	May 25
2005	May 31
2006	May 15
2007	May 24
2008	Jun 11
2009	May 21
2010	May 23
2011	May 28
2012	May 29
2013	May 11
2014	May 14
2015	May 12
2016	May 14
2017	May 27
2018	Apr 28
2019	Jun 9
2020	May 9
2021	May 30
2022	May 25
2023	May 10
2024	Jun 19
2025	May 2
2026	May 22

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1931	138
1932	95
1933	113
1934	115
1935	116
1936	119
1937	112
1938	126
1939	121
1940	145
1941	80
1942	121
1943	91
1944	125
1945	85
1946	125
1948	125
1949	126
1950	96
1951	92
1952	144
1954	112
1955	126
1956	108
1957	117
1958	135
1959	101
1960	110
1961	128
1962	88
1963	148
1964	79
1965	117
1966	108
1967	134
1968	124
1969	116
1970	118
1971	130
1972	140
1973	115
1974	118
1975	115
1976	128
1977	149
1978	133
1979	116
1980	132
1981	134
1982	118
1983	110
1984	112
1985	129
1986	122
1987	148
1988	121
1989	107
1990	135
1991	135
1992	104
1993	127
1994	140
1995	118
1996	123
1997	123
1998	127
1999	117
2000	129
2001	136
2002	119
2003	115
2004	118
2005	113
2006	109
2007	108
2008	94
2009	110
2010	106
2011	98
2012	105
2013	142
2014	120
2015	102
2016	144
2017	112
2018	145
2019	111
2020	122
2021	109
2022	140
2023	149
2024	94
2025	157

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1931	16.6 °C
1932	15.8 °C
1933	16.1 °C
1934	16.5 °C
1935	15.2 °C
1936	17.5 °C
1937	16.2 °C
1938	16.1 °C
1939	16.0 °C
1940	17.0 °C
1941	15.3 °C
1942	14.9 °C
1943	15.2 °C
1944	15.2 °C
1945	13.4 °C
1946	15.8 °C
1949	16.7 °C
1950	13.9 °C
1951	13.9 °C
1952	16.1 °C
1953	15.1 °C
1954	15.1 °C
1955	15.4 °C
1956	15.7 °C
1957	15.5 °C
1958	15.7 °C
1959	15.2 °C
1960	15.9 °C
1961	16.1 °C
1962	15.4 °C
1963	16.2 °C
1964	15.4 °C
1965	14.3 °C
1966	16.1 °C
1967	15.1 °C
1969	16.3 °C
1970	15.1 °C
1971	15.6 °C
1972	15.1 °C
1973	15.3 °C
1974	15.5 °C
1975	14.2 °C
1976	15.8 °C
1977	16.0 °C
1978	15.1 °C
1979	15.8 °C
1980	15.7 °C
1981	15.2 °C
1982	14.0 °C
1983	15.2 °C
1984	14.9 °C
1985	16.0 °C
1986	15.4 °C
1987	16.6 °C
1988	17.2 °C
1989	15.3 °C
1990	16.3 °C
1991	15.9 °C
1992	15.4 °C
1993	14.3 °C
1994	16.3 °C
1995	14.8 °C
1996	15.6 °C
1997	15.4 °C
1998	16.6 °C
1999	15.3 °C
2000	16.7 °C
2001	17.1 °C
2002	14.8 °C
2003	16.2 °C
2004	14.8 °C
2005	14.9 °C
2006	16.3 °C
2007	16.0 °C
2008	14.4 °C
2009	14.8 °C
2010	14.6 °C
2011	14.7 °C
2012	16.2 °C
2013	15.5 °C
2014	14.8 °C
2015	14.9 °C
2016	14.8 °C
2017	14.7 °C
2018	13.9 °C
2019	13.5 °C
2020	14.4 °C
2021	15.3 °C
2022	14.8 °C
2023	15.3 °C
2024	15.4 °C
2025	15.6 °C

What this means for you: Since 1931, Columbus'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 Columbus (NOAA GHCN-Daily). Years with too many missing days are left out.

Nearby towns

Absarokee Laurel Red Lodge Big Timber Billings Lockwood