When to plant in Long Beach, NC
Planting dates worked out from Long Beach's own frost records, not a generic zone chart.
Safe to plant out
Mar 28
1 year in 10 has a later frost
Average last frost
Mar 13
about a 50% chance of a later one
Average first fall frost
Nov 24
1 year in 10 by Nov 13
Frost-free days
252
median, 1991–2020
Station used: Sunny Point North Carolina · 18.0 km away · station 9 m, town 2 m. How we match towns to stations
This season
Plan your garden.
Planting dates for common crops
| Crop | Start indoors | Plant out or sow | Harvest from |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tomato | Jan 31 – Feb 14 | Mar 28 – Apr 11 | May 22 |
| Sweet pepper | Jan 17 – Jan 31 | Mar 28 – Apr 11 | May 27 |
| Lettuce (leaf) | Jan 9 – Jan 16 | Feb 13 – Feb 27 | Mar 25 |
| Peas | — | Jan 30 – Feb 27 | Mar 26 |
| Bush beans | — | Mar 21 – Apr 11 | May 10 |
| Carrot | — | Feb 20 – Apr 3 | Apr 21 |
| Beet | — | Feb 13 – Mar 27 | Apr 4 |
| Potato | — | Feb 20 – Mar 13 | May 1 |
| Kale | Jan 2 – Jan 16 | Feb 13 – Feb 27 | Mar 28 |
| Broccoli | Jan 2 – Jan 16 | Feb 13 – Mar 6 | Apr 14 |
| Cucumber | Feb 28 – Mar 7 | Mar 28 – Apr 11 | May 17 |
| Summer squash and zucchini | Feb 28 – Mar 7 | Mar 28 – Apr 11 | May 12 |
| Winter squash | Feb 28 – Mar 7 | Mar 28 – Apr 11 | Jun 16 |
| Sweet corn | — | Mar 21 – Apr 11 | May 20 |
| Onion (from sets) | — | Feb 13 – Mar 6 | May 14 |
| Garlic | — | Nov 10 – Dec 8 (fall) | following summer |
| Spinach | — | Jan 30 – Feb 27 | Mar 9 |
| Basil | Feb 14 – Feb 28 | Mar 28 – Apr 11 | May 24 |
Long Beach'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 |
|---|---|
| 2002 | Mar 23 |
| 2003 | Feb 17 |
| 2004 | Mar 24 |
| 2005 | Mar 9 |
| 2006 | Mar 27 |
| 2007 | Apr 8 |
| 2008 | Mar 9 |
| 2009 | Mar 5 |
| 2010 | Mar 7 |
| 2011 | Feb 13 |
| 2012 | Feb 13 |
| 2014 | Mar 27 |
| 2015 | Mar 30 |
| 2016 | Mar 22 |
| 2017 | Mar 20 |
| 2018 | Mar 24 |
| 2019 | Mar 7 |
| 2020 | Mar 9 |
| 2021 | Apr 3 |
| 2022 | Mar 14 |
| 2023 | Mar 21 |
| 2024 | Feb 26 |
Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend
See the data as a table
| Year | Frost-free days |
|---|---|
| 2002 | 249 |
| 2003 | 285 |
| 2004 | 264 |
| 2005 | 272 |
| 2006 | 251 |
| 2007 | 221 |
| 2008 | 253 |
| 2009 | 267 |
| 2010 | 269 |
| 2011 | 271 |
| 2012 | 284 |
| 2014 | 220 |
| 2015 | 229 |
| 2016 | 243 |
| 2017 | 244 |
| 2018 | 248 |
| 2019 | 250 |
| 2020 | 267 |
| 2021 | 233 |
| 2022 | 247 |
| 2023 | 251 |
| 2024 | 276 |
Each year's average temperature, April to SeptemberLong-term trend
See the data as a table
| Year | Growing-season temperature |
|---|---|
| 2002 | 23.9 °C |
| 2003 | 23.2 °C |
| 2004 | 23.9 °C |
| 2005 | 23.6 °C |
| 2006 | 23.4 °C |
| 2007 | 23.6 °C |
| 2008 | 23.7 °C |
| 2009 | 23.6 °C |
| 2010 | 24.5 °C |
| 2011 | 24.5 °C |
| 2012 | 23.8 °C |
| 2014 | 23.7 °C |
| 2015 | 24.0 °C |
| 2016 | 24.1 °C |
| 2017 | 24.1 °C |
| 2018 | 24.1 °C |
| 2019 | 24.6 °C |
| 2020 | 23.3 °C |
| 2021 | 22.9 °C |
| 2022 | 23.9 °C |
| 2023 | 23.4 °C |
| 2024 | 24.0 °C |
What this means for you: This station's record is too short to show a reliable trend yet.
Source: daily records from Sunny Point North Carolina (NOAA GHCN-Daily). Years with too many missing days are left out.