When to plant in Townsend, MT

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

Safe to plant out

Jun 4

1 year in 10 has a later frost

Average last frost

May 18

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Sep 16

1 year in 10 by Sep 4

Frost-free days

117

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Townsend 3se · 5.7 km away · station 1208 m, town 1171 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 9 – Apr 23	Jun 4 – Jun 18	Jul 29
Sweet pepper	Mar 26 – Apr 9	Jun 4 – Jun 18	Aug 3
Lettuce (leaf)	Mar 16 – Mar 23	Apr 20 – May 4	May 30
Peas	—	Apr 8 – May 6	Jun 2
Bush beans	—	May 28 – Jun 18	Jul 17
Carrot	—	Apr 27 – Jun 8	Jun 26
Beet	—	Apr 22 – Jun 3	Jun 11
Potato	—	Apr 27 – May 18	Jul 6
Kale	Mar 9 – Mar 23	Apr 20 – May 4	Jun 2
Broccoli	Mar 9 – Mar 23	Apr 20 – May 11	Jun 19
Cucumber	May 7 – May 14	Jun 4 – Jun 18	Jul 24
Summer squash and zucchini	May 7 – May 14	Jun 4 – Jun 18	Jul 19
Winter squash	May 7 – May 14	Jun 4 – Jun 18	Aug 23
Sweet corn	—	May 28 – Jun 18	Jul 27
Onion (from sets)	—	Apr 20 – May 11	Jul 19
Garlic	—	Sep 2 – Sep 30 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Apr 8 – May 6	May 16
Basil	Apr 23 – May 7	Jun 4 – Jun 18	Jul 31

Plan all 65 crops for Townsend

Townsend'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
1949	Jun 30
1950	Jun 4
1951	Jun 3
1952	Jun 22
1953	May 23
1954	Jun 18
1955	Jun 1
1956	May 12
1957	Apr 29
1958	May 13
1959	May 29
1960	May 22
1961	May 16
1962	Jun 5
1963	May 21
1964	May 21
1965	Jun 5
1966	Jun 13
1967	May 26
1968	Jun 14
1969	Jun 13
1970	May 14
1971	May 23
1972	May 26
1973	May 26
1974	May 23
1975	May 25
1976	May 16
1977	May 29
1978	May 30
1979	Jun 8
1980	May 13
1981	May 5
1982	May 31
1983	May 15
1984	Jun 9
1985	Jun 26
1986	May 23
1987	Jun 3
1988	May 20
1989	May 30
1990	May 19
1991	May 5
1992	May 2
1993	May 9
1994	May 2
1995	May 28
1996	May 21
1997	May 19
1998	Jun 5
1999	Jun 10
2000	May 8
2001	May 21
2002	May 23
2003	May 20
2004	May 26
2005	May 27
2006	May 11
2007	May 15
2008	May 13
2009	May 21
2010	May 21
2011	Jun 4
2012	May 27
2013	May 2
2014	May 14
2015	May 11
2016	May 11
2017	Jun 11
2018	May 3
2019	May 10
2021	May 29
2022	May 23
2026	Jun 8

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1949	72
1950	97
1951	91
1952	83
1953	120
1954	103
1955	109
1956	115
1957	133
1958	112
1959	95
1960	93
1961	119
1962	90
1963	147
1964	105
1965	85
1966	68
1967	110
1968	80
1969	82
1970	118
1971	117
1972	103
1973	113
1974	101
1975	116
1976	113
1977	102
1978	112
1979	114
1980	131
1981	139
1982	102
1983	113
1984	95
1985	85
1986	121
1987	105
1988	115
1989	99
1990	140
1991	135
1992	112
1993	126
1994	142
1995	115
1996	124
1997	123
1998	108
1999	93
2000	117
2001	136
2002	121
2003	116
2004	117
2005	107
2006	113
2007	117
2008	117
2010	108
2011	91
2012	108
2013	147
2014	120
2015	146
2016	124
2017	104
2018	143
2019	140
2021	110
2022	109

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1949	15.5 °C
1950	12.8 °C
1951	13.0 °C
1952	14.2 °C
1953	13.8 °C
1954	13.6 °C
1955	13.4 °C
1956	14.4 °C
1957	14.3 °C
1958	14.6 °C
1959	13.3 °C
1960	14.0 °C
1961	14.6 °C
1962	13.4 °C
1963	14.1 °C
1964	13.0 °C
1965	12.3 °C
1966	14.2 °C
1967	13.5 °C
1968	12.0 °C
1969	14.4 °C
1970	13.8 °C
1971	14.3 °C
1972	13.9 °C
1973	14.1 °C
1974	14.3 °C
1975	12.8 °C
1976	14.5 °C
1977	14.7 °C
1978	14.2 °C
1979	14.8 °C
1980	14.2 °C
1981	14.4 °C
1982	13.1 °C
1983	13.6 °C
1984	13.7 °C
1985	14.4 °C
1986	14.0 °C
1987	15.1 °C
1988	15.8 °C
1989	14.9 °C
1990	15.2 °C
1991	15.2 °C
1992	15.0 °C
1993	13.2 °C
1994	15.3 °C
1995	13.8 °C
1996	14.4 °C
1997	14.5 °C
1998	15.5 °C
1999	13.8 °C
2000	15.3 °C
2001	15.5 °C
2002	14.2 °C
2003	15.6 °C
2004	14.2 °C
2005	14.2 °C
2006	15.5 °C
2007	15.5 °C
2008	13.5 °C
2009	14.2 °C
2010	13.8 °C
2011	14.1 °C
2012	15.6 °C
2013	15.4 °C
2014	14.6 °C
2015	15.4 °C
2016	15.2 °C
2017	15.3 °C
2018	14.3 °C
2019	14.3 °C
2021	14.9 °C
2022	14.5 °C
2023	14.8 °C
2026	14.5 °C

What this means for you: Since 1949, Townsend's last spring frost has come about 2 days earlier per decade, on average. The frost-free season has grown by about 3 days per decade. Year-to-year swings are large, so keep using the safe date rather than the trend.

Source: daily records from Townsend 3se (NOAA GHCN-Daily). Years with too many missing days are left out.

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