When to plant in Lucama, NC

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

Safe to plant out

Apr 10

1 year in 10 has a later frost

Average last frost

Mar 26

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Nov 13

1 year in 10 by Oct 30

Frost-free days

238

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Wilson 3 Sw · 7.9 km away · station 34 m, town 40 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 13 – Feb 27	Apr 10 – Apr 24	Jun 4
Sweet pepper	Jan 30 – Feb 13	Apr 10 – Apr 24	Jun 9
Lettuce (leaf)	Jan 22 – Jan 29	Feb 26 – Mar 12	Apr 7
Peas	—	Feb 12 – Mar 12	Apr 8
Bush beans	—	Apr 3 – Apr 24	May 23
Carrot	—	Mar 5 – Apr 16	May 4
Beet	—	Feb 26 – Apr 9	Apr 17
Potato	—	Mar 5 – Mar 26	May 14
Kale	Jan 15 – Jan 29	Feb 26 – Mar 12	Apr 10
Broccoli	Jan 15 – Jan 29	Feb 26 – Mar 19	Apr 27
Cucumber	Mar 13 – Mar 20	Apr 10 – Apr 24	May 30
Summer squash and zucchini	Mar 13 – Mar 20	Apr 10 – Apr 24	May 25
Winter squash	Mar 13 – Mar 20	Apr 10 – Apr 24	Jun 29
Sweet corn	—	Apr 3 – Apr 24	Jun 2
Onion (from sets)	—	Feb 26 – Mar 19	May 27
Garlic	—	Oct 30 – Nov 27 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Feb 12 – Mar 12	Mar 22
Basil	Feb 27 – Mar 13	Apr 10 – Apr 24	Jun 6

Plan all 65 crops for Lucama

Lucama'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
1917	Apr 10
1937	Mar 28
1938	Mar 1
1939	Mar 19
1940	Apr 13
1941	Mar 30
1942	Apr 1
1943	Apr 16
1944	Apr 6
1945	Apr 7
1946	Mar 12
1947	Mar 29
1948	Mar 29
1949	Mar 19
1950	Apr 16
1951	Mar 27
1952	Mar 17
1953	Apr 20
1954	Mar 22
1955	Mar 30
1956	Mar 25
1957	Apr 16
1958	Apr 2
1959	Mar 29
1960	Apr 11
1961	Apr 3
1962	Apr 17
1963	Apr 16
1964	Apr 2
1965	Apr 1
1966	Apr 11
1967	Mar 31
1968	Mar 25
1969	Apr 1
1970	Mar 17
1971	Mar 31
1972	Apr 10
1974	Apr 7
1975	Apr 5
1976	Apr 13
1977	Apr 10
1978	Mar 18
1979	Mar 17
1980	Mar 19
1981	Apr 7
1982	Apr 8
1983	Apr 21
1984	Mar 12
1985	Apr 10
1986	Mar 24
1987	Apr 5
1988	Apr 15
1989	Apr 13
1990	Apr 9
1991	Apr 22
1992	Apr 5
1993	Mar 21
1994	Mar 18
1995	Mar 26
1996	Apr 10
1997	Apr 11
1998	Mar 13
1999	Mar 16
2000	Mar 14
2001	Mar 29
2002	Mar 24
2003	Mar 9
2004	Mar 25
2005	Mar 19
2007	Apr 11
2009	Mar 22
2010	Mar 9
2011	Mar 30
2012	Mar 11
2013	Mar 31
2014	Mar 27
2015	Mar 29
2016	Apr 10
2017	Mar 24
2018	Mar 23
2019	Apr 3
2020	Mar 9
2021	Apr 3
2022	Mar 30
2023	Mar 21
2024	Feb 22
2025	Mar 4
2026	Mar 29

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1917	203
1937	221
1938	268
1939	251
1940	190
1941	224
1942	226
1943	207
1944	204
1945	211
1946	248
1947	242
1948	246
1949	231
1950	203
1951	221
1952	217
1953	200
1954	223
1955	219
1956	230
1957	194
1958	233
1959	218
1960	196
1961	207
1962	190
1963	197
1964	192
1965	207
1966	202
1967	211
1968	219
1969	205
1970	244
1971	221
1972	192
1974	179
1975	208
1976	191
1977	190
1978	220
1979	223
1980	208
1981	195
1982	192
1983	197
1984	238
1985	212
1986	234
1987	199
1988	176
1989	222
1990	218
1991	196
1992	197
1993	225
1994	238
1996	206
1997	219
1998	279
1999	246
2000	246
2001	213
2002	239
2003	265
2004	246
2005	243
2007	219
2009	254
2010	243
2011	213
2012	242
2013	208
2014	220
2015	238
2016	216
2017	231
2018	244
2019	219
2020	253
2021	226
2022	232
2023	225
2024	280
2025	254

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1917	21.6 °C
1937	22.7 °C
1938	23.3 °C
1939	23.4 °C
1940	22.7 °C
1941	24.0 °C
1942	23.8 °C
1943	23.3 °C
1944	23.3 °C
1945	22.8 °C
1946	22.1 °C
1947	22.9 °C
1948	23.4 °C
1949	23.0 °C
1950	22.6 °C
1951	23.2 °C
1952	23.9 °C
1953	23.7 °C
1954	23.8 °C
1955	23.7 °C
1956	22.3 °C
1957	23.1 °C
1958	22.3 °C
1959	22.9 °C
1960	22.7 °C
1961	21.6 °C
1962	21.9 °C
1963	21.3 °C
1964	22.1 °C
1965	22.4 °C
1966	21.5 °C
1967	20.7 °C
1968	22.2 °C
1969	22.3 °C
1970	22.9 °C
1971	22.0 °C
1972	21.4 °C
1973	22.9 °C
1975	22.4 °C
1976	21.4 °C
1977	23.1 °C
1978	22.1 °C
1979	22.1 °C
1980	22.9 °C
1981	22.2 °C
1982	21.6 °C
1983	22.2 °C
1984	21.7 °C
1985	22.4 °C
1986	22.8 °C
1987	22.7 °C
1988	20.9 °C
1989	21.2 °C
1990	21.9 °C
1991	23.4 °C
1992	21.3 °C
1993	23.1 °C
1994	22.0 °C
1995	22.2 °C
1996	22.1 °C
1997	21.1 °C
1998	23.1 °C
1999	22.4 °C
2000	22.1 °C
2001	22.1 °C
2002	23.2 °C
2003	22.2 °C
2004	23.1 °C
2005	22.9 °C
2007	23.0 °C
2009	22.8 °C
2010	24.2 °C
2011	23.4 °C
2012	22.2 °C
2013	22.6 °C
2014	23.9 °C
2015	23.6 °C
2016	23.5 °C
2017	23.4 °C
2018	23.9 °C
2019	24.2 °C
2020	22.6 °C
2021	22.7 °C
2022	23.6 °C
2023	23.0 °C
2024	24.0 °C
2025	23.9 °C
2026	24.4 °C

What this means for you: Since 1917, Lucama'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 Wilson 3 Sw (NOAA GHCN-Daily). Years with too many missing days are left out.

Nearby towns

Fremont Kenly Wilson Elm City Princeton Pine Level