When to plant in Jefferson, NC

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

Safe to plant out

May 23

1 year in 10 has a later frost

Average last frost

May 10

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Oct 8

1 year in 10 by Sep 25

Frost-free days

151

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Jefferson 2 E · 3.9 km away · station 841 m, town 890 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 28 – Apr 11	May 23 – Jun 6	Jul 17
Sweet pepper	Mar 14 – Mar 28	May 23 – Jun 6	Jul 22
Lettuce (leaf)	Mar 8 – Mar 15	Apr 12 – Apr 26	May 22
Peas	—	Mar 29 – Apr 26	May 23
Bush beans	—	May 16 – Jun 6	Jul 5
Carrot	—	Apr 19 – May 31	Jun 18
Beet	—	Apr 12 – May 24	Jun 1
Potato	—	Apr 19 – May 10	Jun 28
Kale	Mar 1 – Mar 15	Apr 12 – Apr 26	May 25
Broccoli	Mar 1 – Mar 15	Apr 12 – May 3	Jun 11
Cucumber	Apr 25 – May 2	May 23 – Jun 6	Jul 12
Summer squash and zucchini	Apr 25 – May 2	May 23 – Jun 6	Jul 7
Winter squash	Apr 25 – May 2	May 23 – Jun 6	Aug 11
Sweet corn	—	May 16 – Jun 6	Jul 15
Onion (from sets)	—	Apr 12 – May 3	Jul 11
Garlic	—	Sep 24 – Oct 22 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Mar 29 – Apr 26	May 6
Basil	Apr 11 – Apr 25	May 23 – Jun 6	Jul 19

Plan all 65 crops for Jefferson

Jefferson'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
1896	Apr 8
1903	Apr 24
1904	Apr 22
1905	Apr 19
1910	May 15
1911	May 6
1912	Apr 24
1913	May 12
1914	Apr 21
1915	Apr 18
1916	Apr 30
1917	Apr 16
1918	May 2
1919	Apr 27
1920	May 16
1921	May 2
1923	May 11
1924	May 10
1925	May 28
1926	May 5
1927	Apr 25
1934	Apr 28
1935	Apr 17
1936	Apr 24
1937	May 10
1938	Apr 24
1939	May 15
1940	May 5
1941	May 14
1942	Apr 23
1943	May 22
1944	May 8
1945	Apr 9
1966	Jun 1
1967	May 24
1968	May 22
1969	May 13
1970	May 7
1971	May 3
1972	Apr 28
1973	May 18
1974	May 8
1975	Apr 22
1976	May 9
1977	May 12
1978	May 3
1979	Apr 30
1980	May 10
1981	May 13
1982	May 1
1983	May 10
1984	Apr 20
1985	Apr 30
1986	May 23
1987	May 9
1988	Jun 5
1989	May 13
1990	May 8
1991	Apr 25
1992	May 22
1993	May 23
1994	May 28
1995	May 7
1996	May 15
1997	May 24
1998	Apr 29
1999	May 4
2000	May 17
2001	May 15
2002	May 23
2003	Apr 25
2004	Apr 28
2005	May 10
2006	May 25
2007	May 9
2008	May 7
2009	May 20
2010	May 11
2011	May 7
2012	May 11
2013	May 15
2014	May 17
2015	May 3
2016	Apr 25
2017	Apr 10
2018	May 1
2019	May 16
2020	May 13
2021	May 15
2022	May 10
2023	May 6
2024	Apr 26
2025	Apr 17
2026	May 12

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1903	171
1904	175
1910	161
1911	171
1912	160
1913	133
1914	188
1915	174
1916	142
1917	148
1918	143
1919	191
1920	144
1921	157
1923	149
1924	143
1925	134
1926	172
1927	151
1934	168
1935	170
1936	186
1937	151
1938	161
1939	150
1940	144
1941	150
1942	158
1943	118
1944	155
1945	177
1966	123
1967	148
1968	135
1969	148
1970	150
1971	157
1972	156
1973	152
1974	147
1975	163
1976	154
1977	145
1978	158
1979	158
1980	148
1981	133
1982	169
1983	135
1984	149
1985	136
1986	145
1987	145
1988	122
1989	137
1990	139
1991	155
1992	130
1993	130
1994	135
1995	162
1996	142
1997	103
1998	168
1999	141
2000	122
2001	137
2002	146
2003	157
2004	192
2005	169
2006	140
2007	156
2008	148
2009	133
2010	156
2011	168
2012	136
2013	146
2014	155
2015	166
2016	169
2017	173
2018	170
2019	151
2021	156
2022	140
2023	155
2024	167
2025	182

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1896	19.2 °C
1903	17.0 °C
1904	16.3 °C
1905	17.8 °C
1910	17.3 °C
1911	18.6 °C
1912	17.9 °C
1913	17.6 °C
1914	18.3 °C
1915	16.9 °C
1916	16.9 °C
1917	15.6 °C
1918	16.1 °C
1919	16.9 °C
1920	16.4 °C
1921	17.6 °C
1922	17.3 °C
1923	16.6 °C
1924	16.4 °C
1925	18.6 °C
1926	18.2 °C
1927	17.6 °C
1934	18.5 °C
1936	18.6 °C
1937	17.6 °C
1938	17.6 °C
1939	17.7 °C
1940	16.4 °C
1941	18.1 °C
1942	18.0 °C
1943	17.3 °C
1944	17.6 °C
1966	16.8 °C
1967	16.0 °C
1968	17.1 °C
1969	17.4 °C
1970	18.1 °C
1971	17.2 °C
1972	16.7 °C
1973	17.3 °C
1974	16.7 °C
1975	17.3 °C
1976	16.4 °C
1977	18.1 °C
1978	17.6 °C
1979	16.8 °C
1980	17.6 °C
1981	17.3 °C
1982	16.9 °C
1983	16.5 °C
1985	16.9 °C
1986	17.7 °C
1987	17.7 °C
1988	16.8 °C
1989	16.8 °C
1990	17.1 °C
1991	17.7 °C
1993	17.5 °C
1994	17.0 °C
1995	17.4 °C
1996	16.6 °C
1997	15.2 °C
1998	17.6 °C
1999	16.9 °C
2000	16.6 °C
2001	16.6 °C
2002	17.5 °C
2003	16.6 °C
2004	17.0 °C
2005	17.0 °C
2006	16.6 °C
2007	17.1 °C
2008	16.4 °C
2009	16.8 °C
2010	18.0 °C
2011	17.4 °C
2012	17.0 °C
2013	16.4 °C
2014	16.8 °C
2015	17.5 °C
2016	17.5 °C
2017	16.9 °C
2018	17.9 °C
2019	17.8 °C
2021	16.6 °C
2022	17.4 °C
2023	16.6 °C
2024	17.9 °C
2025	17.8 °C
2026	18.3 °C

What this means for you: Since 1896, Jefferson's last spring frost has come about 1 day later per decade, on average. Year-to-year swings are large, so keep using the safe date rather than the trend.

Source: daily records from Jefferson 2 E (NOAA GHCN-Daily). Years with too many missing days are left out.

Nearby towns

West Jefferson Boone Mountain City, TN Sparta Mulberry Millers Creek