When to plant in Concord, NC

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

Safe to plant out

Apr 17

1 year in 10 has a later frost

Average last frost

Mar 29

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Oct 31

1 year in 10 by Oct 19

Frost-free days

212

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Concord · 1.7 km away · station 204 m, town 228 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	Feb 20 – Mar 6	Apr 17 – May 1	Jun 11
Sweet pepper	Feb 6 – Feb 20	Apr 17 – May 1	Jun 16
Lettuce (leaf)	Jan 25 – Feb 1	Mar 1 – Mar 15	Apr 10
Peas	—	Feb 15 – Mar 15	Apr 11
Bush beans	—	Apr 10 – May 1	May 30
Carrot	—	Mar 8 – Apr 19	May 7
Beet	—	Mar 1 – Apr 12	Apr 20
Potato	—	Mar 8 – Mar 29	May 17
Kale	Jan 18 – Feb 1	Mar 1 – Mar 15	Apr 13
Broccoli	Jan 18 – Feb 1	Mar 1 – Mar 22	Apr 30
Cucumber	Mar 20 – Mar 27	Apr 17 – May 1	Jun 6
Summer squash and zucchini	Mar 20 – Mar 27	Apr 17 – May 1	Jun 1
Winter squash	Mar 20 – Mar 27	Apr 17 – May 1	Jul 6
Sweet corn	—	Apr 10 – May 1	Jun 9
Onion (from sets)	—	Mar 1 – Mar 22	May 30
Garlic	—	Oct 17 – Nov 14 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Feb 15 – Mar 15	Mar 25
Basil	Mar 6 – Mar 20	Apr 17 – May 1	Jun 13

Plan all 65 crops for Concord

Concord'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
1891	Apr 10
1933	Mar 22
1934	Apr 13
1935	Mar 13
1936	Apr 19
1937	Apr 12
1938	Apr 11
1939	Apr 5
1940	Apr 14
1941	Mar 30
1942	Apr 12
1943	Apr 16
1944	Apr 6
1946	Mar 11
1947	Mar 29
1948	Mar 29
1949	Apr 17
1950	Apr 16
1951	Mar 27
1952	Mar 25
1953	Apr 21
1954	Mar 23
1955	Mar 31
1956	Apr 21
1957	Mar 21
1958	Mar 22
1959	Mar 29
1960	Apr 11
1961	Mar 19
1962	Apr 17
1963	Mar 23
1964	Apr 1
1965	Apr 3
1966	Mar 29
1967	Mar 23
1968	Mar 25
1969	Mar 28
1970	Apr 9
1971	Apr 16
1972	Apr 9
1973	Apr 15
1974	Apr 11
1975	Apr 13
1976	Apr 13
1977	Mar 27
1978	Mar 18
1979	Mar 28
1980	Mar 23
1981	Apr 7
1982	Apr 24
1983	Apr 22
1984	Apr 12
1985	Apr 11
1986	Apr 24
1987	Apr 1
1988	Mar 23
1989	May 9
1990	Apr 13
1991	Mar 12
1992	Apr 3
1993	Mar 20
1994	Mar 18
1995	Mar 12
1996	Apr 11
1997	Apr 11
1998	Mar 24
1999	Mar 27
2000	Mar 15
2001	Apr 19
2002	Apr 8
2003	Mar 31
2004	Mar 24
2005	Mar 20
2006	Mar 27
2007	Apr 10
2008	Apr 17
2009	Mar 22
2010	Mar 8
2011	Mar 12
2012	Apr 12
2013	Mar 30
2014	Apr 17
2015	Mar 30
2016	Apr 10
2017	Mar 23
2018	Apr 17
2019	Apr 3
2020	Mar 9
2021	Apr 22
2022	Apr 11
2023	Apr 12
2024	Apr 7
2025	Apr 14
2026	Apr 10

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1933	230
1934	198
1935	207
1936	205
1937	185
1938	217
1939	193
1940	206
1941	222
1942	197
1943	184
1944	204
1946	246
1947	224
1948	203
1949	200
1950	203
1951	221
1952	209
1953	199
1954	221
1955	214
1956	202
1957	220
1958	251
1959	223
1960	210
1961	234
1962	190
1963	224
1964	234
1965	204
1966	218
1967	226
1968	218
1969	209
1970	191
1971	203
1972	193
1973	204
1974	176
1975	201
1976	188
1977	204
1978	258
1979	221
1980	227
1981	195
1982	194
1983	196
1984	208
1985	211
1986	203
1987	203
1988	203
1989	191
1990	197
1991	237
1992	219
1993	225
1994	224
1995	237
1996	206
1997	207
1998	227
1999	211
2000	208
2001	191
2002	207
2003	227
2004	230
2005	235
2006	210
2007	202
2008	194
2009	210
2010	243
2011	231
2012	204
2013	207
2014	170
2015	202
2016	216
2017	220
2018	207
2019	214
2020	237
2021	196
2022	190
2023	203
2024	227
2025	200

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1891	21.9 °C
1933	23.4 °C
1934	23.4 °C
1935	22.3 °C
1936	23.1 °C
1938	22.8 °C
1940	22.1 °C
1941	23.4 °C
1942	23.2 °C
1943	22.6 °C
1944	22.7 °C
1946	21.9 °C
1947	22.6 °C
1948	22.8 °C
1949	22.5 °C
1950	22.1 °C
1951	22.4 °C
1952	22.8 °C
1953	22.8 °C
1954	22.7 °C
1955	22.9 °C
1956	22.0 °C
1957	22.8 °C
1958	22.5 °C
1959	23.0 °C
1960	22.6 °C
1961	21.6 °C
1962	22.5 °C
1963	21.9 °C
1964	22.2 °C
1965	22.5 °C
1966	21.9 °C
1967	21.1 °C
1968	22.2 °C
1969	22.2 °C
1970	23.1 °C
1971	22.0 °C
1972	21.4 °C
1973	22.1 °C
1974	21.5 °C
1975	22.0 °C
1976	21.2 °C
1977	23.5 °C
1978	22.5 °C
1979	21.5 °C
1980	23.1 °C
1981	22.2 °C
1982	21.9 °C
1983	22.0 °C
1984	21.4 °C
1985	22.3 °C
1986	23.1 °C
1987	22.8 °C
1988	21.7 °C
1989	21.6 °C
1990	22.2 °C
1991	22.4 °C
1992	21.7 °C
1993	22.8 °C
1994	21.8 °C
1995	22.2 °C
1996	21.9 °C
1997	20.9 °C
1998	23.1 °C
1999	22.2 °C
2000	21.9 °C
2001	21.6 °C
2002	23.0 °C
2003	22.0 °C
2004	22.8 °C
2005	22.8 °C
2006	22.8 °C
2007	23.2 °C
2008	22.5 °C
2009	22.8 °C
2010	24.5 °C
2011	23.9 °C
2012	22.7 °C
2013	21.4 °C
2014	21.9 °C
2015	23.6 °C
2016	23.8 °C
2017	23.1 °C
2018	23.8 °C
2019	23.8 °C
2020	22.0 °C
2021	22.2 °C
2022	21.9 °C
2023	20.8 °C
2024	21.8 °C
2025	21.8 °C
2026	22.2 °C

What this means for you: Since 1891, Concord'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 Concord (NOAA GHCN-Daily). Years with too many missing days are left out.

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