When to plant in Lockwood, MT

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

Safe to plant out

May 20

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 2

1 year in 10 by Sep 18

Frost-free days

151

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Billings Wtp · 7.4 km away · station 944 m, town 943 m. How we match towns to stations

This season

Plan your garden.

Build my Lockwood plan

Planting dates for common crops

Crop	Start indoors	Plant out or sow	Harvest from
Tomato	Mar 25 – Apr 8	May 20 – Jun 3	Jul 14
Sweet pepper	Mar 11 – Mar 25	May 20 – Jun 3	Jul 19
Lettuce (leaf)	Mar 4 – Mar 11	Apr 8 – Apr 22	May 18
Peas	—	Mar 26 – Apr 23	May 20
Bush beans	—	May 13 – Jun 3	Jul 2
Carrot	—	Apr 15 – May 27	Jun 14
Beet	—	Apr 10 – May 22	May 30
Potato	—	Apr 15 – May 6	Jun 24
Kale	Feb 25 – Mar 11	Apr 8 – Apr 22	May 21
Broccoli	Feb 25 – Mar 11	Apr 8 – Apr 29	Jun 7
Cucumber	Apr 22 – Apr 29	May 20 – Jun 3	Jul 9
Summer squash and zucchini	Apr 22 – Apr 29	May 20 – Jun 3	Jul 4
Winter squash	Apr 22 – Apr 29	May 20 – Jun 3	Aug 8
Sweet corn	—	May 13 – Jun 3	Jul 12
Onion (from sets)	—	Apr 8 – Apr 29	Jul 7
Garlic	—	Sep 18 – Oct 16 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Mar 26 – Apr 23	May 3
Basil	Apr 8 – Apr 22	May 20 – Jun 3	Jul 16

Plan all 65 crops for Lockwood

Lockwood'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
1895	May 19
1896	May 15
1898	May 6
1899	May 5
1901	May 10
1903	Jun 23
1905	May 16
1906	May 26
1907	May 14
1909	May 19
1910	Jun 4
1911	May 28
1912	May 24
1913	May 21
1914	May 7
1915	May 22
1916	May 17
1917	May 31
1918	May 22
1919	Jun 2
1920	May 26
1921	May 31
1922	May 30
1923	May 19
1924	Jun 8
1925	May 11
1926	Apr 27
1927	May 20
1928	Jun 1
1929	May 28
1930	Jun 4
1931	May 22
1932	May 27
1933	May 24
1934	May 13
1935	May 8
1936	Apr 29
1937	May 13
1938	Jun 6
1939	May 21
1940	May 14
1941	Apr 23
1942	May 19
1943	May 18
1944	May 8
1945	Jun 14
1946	May 31
1947	May 29
1948	May 6
1949	May 23
1950	Jun 8
1951	Jun 4
1952	May 10
1953	May 15
1954	May 4
1955	May 7
1956	May 14
1957	Apr 27
1958	Apr 29
1959	May 13
1960	May 6
1961	May 8
1962	May 1
1963	May 22
1964	May 3
1965	May 18
1966	May 19
1967	May 13
1968	May 20
1969	Jun 13
1970	Apr 30
1971	May 18
1972	May 8
1973	May 12
1974	May 16
1975	May 26
1976	May 3
1977	Apr 21
1978	Jun 11
1979	May 8
1981	May 11
1982	May 30
1983	May 15
1984	May 8
1985	May 6
1986	May 16
1987	Apr 21
1988	May 4
1989	May 1
1990	May 1
1991	May 4
1992	Apr 25
1993	Apr 17
1994	Apr 30
1996	May 10
1997	May 19
1998	May 10
1999	Apr 17
2000	May 14
2001	May 20
2002	May 23
2003	May 20
2004	May 25
2005	May 13
2006	May 5
2007	Apr 20
2008	May 3
2009	May 2
2010	May 8
2011	May 5
2012	May 7
2013	May 2
2014	May 8
2015	May 11
2016	Apr 29
2017	Apr 29
2018	Apr 25
2019	May 10
2020	May 8
2021	May 22
2022	Apr 30
2023	Apr 28
2024	May 4
2025	Apr 29
2026	May 19

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1895	110
1901	128
1905	146
1907	117
1909	121
1910	81
1911	109
1912	114
1913	117
1914	116
1915	114
1916	119
1917	129
1918	138
1919	111
1920	121
1921	101
1922	121
1923	115
1924	84
1925	133
1926	144
1927	121
1928	101
1929	98
1930	88
1931	138
1932	114
1933	118
1934	128
1935	140
1936	139
1937	140
1938	131
1939	127
1940	152
1941	145
1942	122
1943	112
1944	132
1945	87
1946	114
1947	130
1948	147
1949	112
1950	111
1951	91
1952	146
1953	132
1954	148
1955	137
1956	115
1957	144
1958	148
1959	138
1960	113
1961	117
1962	125
1963	154
1964	130
1965	120
1966	143
1967	152
1968	124
1969	113
1970	134
1971	122
1972	135
1973	124
1974	127
1975	128
1976	146
1977	171
1979	145
1981	147
1982	122
1983	126
1984	137
1985	139
1986	147
1987	168
1988	171
1989	132
1990	150
1991	136
1992	141
1993	157
1994	160
1996	139
1997	142
1998	155
1999	163
2000	130
2001	137
2002	121
2003	120
2004	143
2005	144
2006	159
2007	177
2008	129
2009	148
2010	156
2011	166
2012	151
2013	155
2014	126
2015	157
2016	160
2017	157
2018	158
2019	142
2020	157
2021	117
2022	178
2023	168
2024	171
2025	174

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1894	17.7 °C
1895	17.6 °C
1898	16.2 °C
1901	16.9 °C
1905	17.2 °C
1906	17.8 °C
1907	14.8 °C
1909	15.0 °C
1910	16.6 °C
1911	14.9 °C
1912	14.4 °C
1913	16.0 °C
1914	15.6 °C
1915	15.0 °C
1916	14.9 °C
1917	15.0 °C
1918	15.4 °C
1919	17.0 °C
1920	15.6 °C
1921	16.6 °C
1922	16.9 °C
1923	16.1 °C
1924	14.8 °C
1925	16.4 °C
1926	15.7 °C
1927	14.4 °C
1928	15.2 °C
1929	15.5 °C
1930	17.1 °C
1931	16.8 °C
1932	16.2 °C
1933	17.1 °C
1934	17.7 °C
1935	16.4 °C
1936	18.9 °C
1937	16.8 °C
1938	16.3 °C
1939	16.5 °C
1940	17.4 °C
1941	16.4 °C
1942	15.8 °C
1943	16.1 °C
1944	15.8 °C
1945	14.6 °C
1946	15.8 °C
1947	15.8 °C
1948	16.7 °C
1949	16.6 °C
1950	14.0 °C
1951	14.4 °C
1952	17.3 °C
1953	16.3 °C
1954	16.3 °C
1955	16.8 °C
1956	16.3 °C
1957	16.5 °C
1958	16.8 °C
1959	16.0 °C
1960	16.9 °C
1961	16.8 °C
1962	16.4 °C
1963	16.9 °C
1964	16.3 °C
1965	15.1 °C
1966	17.1 °C
1967	16.4 °C
1968	15.2 °C
1969	17.3 °C
1970	16.3 °C
1971	16.5 °C
1972	15.8 °C
1973	16.1 °C
1974	16.2 °C
1975	14.9 °C
1976	16.9 °C
1977	18.2 °C
1978	16.2 °C
1979	17.1 °C
1981	17.4 °C
1982	15.9 °C
1983	16.6 °C
1984	16.8 °C
1985	17.2 °C
1986	16.8 °C
1987	18.0 °C
1990	17.5 °C
1991	17.3 °C
1992	16.8 °C
1996	17.3 °C
1997	16.8 °C
1998	18.0 °C
2001	18.4 °C
2002	17.2 °C
2003	18.4 °C
2004	17.0 °C
2005	17.0 °C
2006	18.6 °C
2007	18.3 °C
2008	16.4 °C
2009	16.8 °C
2010	16.7 °C
2011	17.0 °C
2012	18.7 °C
2013	17.8 °C
2014	16.5 °C
2015	16.7 °C
2016	16.7 °C
2017	16.9 °C
2018	15.7 °C
2019	15.9 °C
2020	17.0 °C
2021	17.1 °C
2022	16.9 °C
2023	17.4 °C
2024	17.6 °C
2025	17.5 °C
2026	17.8 °C

What this means for you: Since 1895, Lockwood's last spring frost has come about 2 days earlier per decade, on average. The frost-free season has grown by about 4 days per decade. Year-to-year swings are large, so keep using the safe date rather than the trend.

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

Nearby towns

Billings Laurel Hardin Columbus Roundup Crow Agency