When to plant in Banner Elk, NC

Planting dates worked out from Banner Elk'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 10

1 year in 10 by Sep 29

Frost-free days

155

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Banner Elk · 0.3 km away · station 1137 m, town 1128 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	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 25 – Apr 22	May 19
Bush beans	—	May 13 – Jun 3	Jul 2
Carrot	—	Apr 15 – May 27	Jun 14
Beet	—	Apr 8 – May 20	May 28
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 26 – Oct 24 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Mar 25 – Apr 22	May 2
Basil	Apr 8 – Apr 22	May 20 – Jun 3	Jul 16

Plan all 65 crops for Banner Elk

Banner Elk'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
1908	May 1
1909	May 13
1910	May 28
1911	May 7
1912	May 14
1913	May 12
1914	May 20
1915	May 10
1916	Apr 30
1917	Jun 17
1918	May 3
1919	Apr 27
1920	May 15
1921	May 8
1922	Apr 30
1923	May 11
1924	May 17
1925	May 27
1926	May 8
1927	Apr 25
1928	May 13
1929	Jun 4
1930	Jun 2
1931	Apr 28
1932	May 30
1933	Jun 15
1934	May 26
1935	May 26
1936	Jun 1
1937	May 11
1938	May 11
1939	May 16
1940	May 12
1941	May 14
1942	May 17
1943	May 5
1944	May 8
1945	May 20
1947	Apr 30
1948	May 19
1949	Apr 26
1950	Apr 22
1951	May 13
1952	Apr 18
1953	Apr 28
1954	Jun 6
1955	May 9
1956	Jun 4
1957	May 7
1958	Apr 14
1959	May 17
1960	May 14
1961	May 29
1962	Apr 24
1963	May 24
1964	Apr 16
1965	Apr 17
1966	Jun 2
1967	May 17
1968	May 22
1969	May 13
1970	May 7
1971	May 5
1972	Jun 11
1973	May 18
1974	May 7
1975	Apr 22
1976	May 9
1977	Jun 10
1978	May 3
1979	May 18
1980	May 10
1981	May 13
1982	May 1
1983	May 27
1984	May 31
1985	May 4
1986	May 4
1987	May 9
1988	Jun 5
1989	May 13
1990	Apr 19
1991	Apr 25
1992	May 8
1993	May 22
1994	May 28
1995	Apr 29
1996	May 14
2008	Apr 30
2009	May 19
2010	May 10
2011	May 6
2012	Apr 24
2013	May 14
2014	May 19
2015	Apr 29
2016	May 16
2017	Apr 10
2018	May 1
2019	Apr 16
2020	May 12
2021	May 13
2022	Apr 21
2023	Apr 26
2024	Apr 24
2025	Apr 18
2026	May 16

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1908	150
1909	135
1910	148
1911	164
1912	140
1913	133
1914	129
1915	151
1916	152
1917	86
1918	141
1919	154
1920	140
1921	150
1922	165
1923	150
1924	111
1925	135
1926	152
1927	149
1928	135
1929	106
1930	81
1931	153
1932	121
1933	112
1934	139
1935	126
1936	133
1937	140
1938	143
1939	149
1940	123
1942	134
1943	127
1944	153
1948	143
1949	183
1951	139
1952	138
1953	138
1954	123
1955	152
1956	96
1957	158
1958	175
1959	154
1960	159
1961	128
1962	149
1963	123
1964	172
1965	170
1966	121
1967	129
1968	135
1969	138
1970	150
1971	155
1972	111
1973	151
1974	146
1975	144
1976	154
1977	116
1978	158
1979	140
1980	148
1981	133
1982	168
1983	117
1984	107
1985	132
1986	164
1987	145
1988	94
1989	144
1990	158
1991	155
1992	144
1993	131
1994	141
1996	143
2008	155
2009	134
2010	157
2011	168
2012	152
2013	158
2014	138
2015	171
2016	148
2017	189
2018	172
2019	181
2020	157
2021	159
2022	160
2023	165
2024	169
2025	185

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1908	16.1 °C
1909	15.4 °C
1910	15.1 °C
1911	16.0 °C
1912	15.9 °C
1913	15.4 °C
1914	15.8 °C
1915	15.6 °C
1916	15.3 °C
1917	14.5 °C
1918	14.9 °C
1919	15.6 °C
1920	14.8 °C
1921	15.8 °C
1922	15.6 °C
1923	15.1 °C
1924	14.9 °C
1925	16.9 °C
1926	16.5 °C
1927	16.1 °C
1928	15.2 °C
1929	15.5 °C
1930	15.7 °C
1931	16.1 °C
1932	16.3 °C
1933	16.8 °C
1934	16.7 °C
1935	16.1 °C
1936	16.6 °C
1937	16.6 °C
1938	15.9 °C
1939	15.8 °C
1940	14.4 °C
1942	16.1 °C
1943	16.0 °C
1944	15.8 °C
1945	16.3 °C
1947	15.4 °C
1948	15.6 °C
1949	16.1 °C
1950	15.3 °C
1951	15.1 °C
1952	15.6 °C
1953	15.4 °C
1954	15.5 °C
1955	16.0 °C
1956	15.0 °C
1957	16.2 °C
1958	15.9 °C
1959	16.5 °C
1960	15.8 °C
1961	14.5 °C
1962	15.6 °C
1963	15.1 °C
1964	15.8 °C
1965	16.3 °C
1966	15.2 °C
1967	14.6 °C
1968	15.3 °C
1969	15.8 °C
1970	16.3 °C
1971	15.5 °C
1972	15.0 °C
1973	15.7 °C
1974	15.1 °C
1975	15.7 °C
1976	14.8 °C
1977	16.5 °C
1978	16.1 °C
1979	15.1 °C
1980	16.1 °C
1981	16.0 °C
1982	15.3 °C
1983	15.0 °C
1984	14.9 °C
1985	15.7 °C
1986	16.7 °C
1987	16.5 °C
1988	16.1 °C
1989	15.9 °C
1990	16.4 °C
1991	17.1 °C
1992	15.5 °C
1993	16.3 °C
1994	16.3 °C
1996	15.7 °C
2008	15.7 °C
2009	15.6 °C
2010	17.7 °C
2011	17.1 °C
2012	16.4 °C
2013	15.7 °C
2014	16.0 °C
2015	16.7 °C
2016	16.9 °C
2017	16.3 °C
2018	17.0 °C
2019	16.9 °C
2020	15.9 °C
2021	15.6 °C
2022	16.1 °C
2023	15.3 °C
2024	16.4 °C
2025	16.3 °C
2026	16.9 °C

What this means for you: Since 1908, Banner Elk'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 Banner Elk (NOAA GHCN-Daily). Years with too many missing days are left out.

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