When to plant in Havelock, NC

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

Safe to plant out

Apr 4

1 year in 10 has a later frost

Average last frost

Mar 21

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Nov 18

1 year in 10 by Nov 3

Frost-free days

241

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Cherry Point Mcas · 2.9 km away · station 9 m, town 7 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 7 – Feb 21	Apr 4 – Apr 18	May 29
Sweet pepper	Jan 24 – Feb 7	Apr 4 – Apr 18	Jun 3
Lettuce (leaf)	Jan 17 – Jan 24	Feb 21 – Mar 7	Apr 2
Peas	—	Feb 7 – Mar 7	Apr 3
Bush beans	—	Mar 28 – Apr 18	May 17
Carrot	—	Feb 28 – Apr 11	Apr 29
Beet	—	Feb 21 – Apr 4	Apr 12
Potato	—	Feb 28 – Mar 21	May 9
Kale	Jan 10 – Jan 24	Feb 21 – Mar 7	Apr 5
Broccoli	Jan 10 – Jan 24	Feb 21 – Mar 14	Apr 22
Cucumber	Mar 7 – Mar 14	Apr 4 – Apr 18	May 24
Summer squash and zucchini	Mar 7 – Mar 14	Apr 4 – Apr 18	May 19
Winter squash	Mar 7 – Mar 14	Apr 4 – Apr 18	Jun 23
Sweet corn	—	Mar 28 – Apr 18	May 27
Onion (from sets)	—	Feb 21 – Mar 14	May 22
Garlic	—	Nov 4 – Dec 2 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Feb 7 – Mar 7	Mar 17
Basil	Feb 21 – Mar 7	Apr 4 – Apr 18	May 31

Plan all 65 crops for Havelock

Havelock'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
1946	Feb 21
1947	Mar 29
1948	Mar 13
1949	Mar 16
1950	Mar 17
1951	Mar 27
1952	Mar 16
1953	Feb 19
1954	Mar 16
1955	Mar 28
1956	Mar 25
1957	Feb 18
1958	Mar 16
1959	Feb 21
1960	Mar 24
1961	Mar 11
1962	Mar 6
1963	Mar 24
1964	Apr 2
1965	Mar 22
1966	Apr 3
1967	Mar 23
1968	Mar 8
1969	Mar 13
1970	Mar 17
1971	Mar 10
1972	Apr 10
1973	Feb 24
1974	Apr 11
1975	Mar 10
1976	Mar 18
1977	Mar 24
1978	Mar 19
1979	Mar 17
1980	Mar 7
1981	Mar 20
1982	Feb 14
1983	Apr 20
1984	Mar 11
1985	Feb 21
1986	Mar 22
1987	Apr 2
1988	Mar 18
1989	Mar 8
1990	Feb 27
1991	Mar 9
1992	Apr 3
1993	Mar 19
1994	Mar 18
1995	Mar 12
1996	Apr 10
1997	Mar 17
1998	Mar 14
2001	Apr 19
2002	Mar 24
2003	Apr 1
2004	Apr 6
2005	Mar 15
2008	Mar 21
2009	Mar 6
2010	Mar 9
2011	Mar 29
2012	Mar 5
2013	Mar 29
2014	Mar 27
2015	Mar 30
2016	Mar 22
2017	Mar 17
2018	Mar 23
2019	Mar 7
2020	Mar 9
2021	Apr 3
2022	Mar 28
2023	Mar 21

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1945	326
1946	283
1947	245
1948	282
1949	247
1950	249
1951	235
1952	227
1953	280
1954	231
1955	245
1956	242
1957	285
1958	258
1959	269
1960	251
1961	255
1962	234
1963	220
1964	241
1965	240
1966	240
1967	229
1968	256
1969	246
1970	251
1971	257
1972	226
1973	259
1974	193
1975	249
1976	224
1977	233
1978	251
1979	257
1980	256
1981	246
1982	300
1983	230
1984	248
1985	289
1986	236
1987	223
1988	255
1989	260
1990	264
1991	260
1992	227
1993	255
1994	251
1995	241
1996	207
1997	223
2001	201
2002	248
2003	242
2004	223
2005	241
2008	223
2009	279
2010	262
2011	227
2012	248
2013	228
2014	220
2015	229
2016	243
2017	267
2020	267
2021	233
2022	234

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1945	23.9 °C
1946	22.8 °C
1947	22.8 °C
1948	23.2 °C
1949	23.1 °C
1950	22.8 °C
1951	23.1 °C
1952	24.3 °C
1953	23.9 °C
1954	23.9 °C
1955	23.6 °C
1956	23.1 °C
1957	24.0 °C
1958	23.3 °C
1959	23.8 °C
1960	23.6 °C
1961	22.6 °C
1962	22.6 °C
1963	20.9 °C
1964	22.6 °C
1965	22.5 °C
1966	22.0 °C
1967	22.0 °C
1968	23.2 °C
1969	23.1 °C
1970	23.4 °C
1971	22.6 °C
1972	22.1 °C
1973	23.3 °C
1974	22.7 °C
1975	23.3 °C
1976	22.4 °C
1977	23.5 °C
1978	22.9 °C
1979	22.3 °C
1980	23.6 °C
1981	23.2 °C
1982	23.1 °C
1983	23.1 °C
1984	22.4 °C
1985	24.0 °C
1986	24.1 °C
1987	24.0 °C
1988	23.2 °C
1989	24.2 °C
1990	24.9 °C
1991	24.7 °C
1992	23.2 °C
1993	23.8 °C
1994	23.2 °C
1995	23.0 °C
1996	22.7 °C
1997	21.8 °C
2001	22.4 °C
2002	23.9 °C
2003	23.2 °C
2004	23.3 °C
2005	23.1 °C
2008	22.9 °C
2009	22.7 °C
2010	24.0 °C
2011	24.4 °C
2012	23.1 °C
2013	22.6 °C
2014	23.4 °C
2015	23.8 °C
2016	24.1 °C
2017	24.2 °C
2018	24.3 °C
2019	25.1 °C
2020	23.7 °C
2021	23.0 °C
2022	23.7 °C

What this means for you: Since 1946, Havelock's last spring frost has come about 1 day later per decade, on average. The frost-free season has shrunk 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 Cherry Point Mcas (NOAA GHCN-Daily). Years with too many missing days are left out.

Nearby towns

Neuse Forest Newport Broad Creek Pine Knoll Shores Fairfield Harbour Emerald Isle