When to plant in Oak Ridge, NC

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

Safe to plant out

Apr 12

1 year in 10 has a later frost

Average last frost

Mar 31

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Nov 5

1 year in 10 by Oct 26

Frost-free days

218

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Greensboro Ap · 9.5 km away · station 275 m, town 286 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 15 – Mar 1	Apr 12 – Apr 26	Jun 6
Sweet pepper	Feb 1 – Feb 15	Apr 12 – Apr 26	Jun 11
Lettuce (leaf)	Jan 27 – Feb 3	Mar 3 – Mar 17	Apr 12
Peas	—	Feb 17 – Mar 17	Apr 13
Bush beans	—	Apr 5 – Apr 26	May 25
Carrot	—	Mar 10 – Apr 21	May 9
Beet	—	Mar 3 – Apr 14	Apr 22
Potato	—	Mar 10 – Mar 31	May 19
Kale	Jan 20 – Feb 3	Mar 3 – Mar 17	Apr 15
Broccoli	Jan 20 – Feb 3	Mar 3 – Mar 24	May 2
Cucumber	Mar 15 – Mar 22	Apr 12 – Apr 26	Jun 1
Summer squash and zucchini	Mar 15 – Mar 22	Apr 12 – Apr 26	May 27
Winter squash	Mar 15 – Mar 22	Apr 12 – Apr 26	Jul 1
Sweet corn	—	Apr 5 – Apr 26	Jun 4
Onion (from sets)	—	Mar 3 – Mar 24	Jun 1
Garlic	—	Oct 22 – Nov 19 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Feb 17 – Mar 17	Mar 27
Basil	Mar 1 – Mar 15	Apr 12 – Apr 26	Jun 8

Plan all 65 crops for Oak Ridge

Oak Ridge'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
1929	Apr 19
1930	Apr 27
1931	Apr 28
1932	Apr 16
1933	Mar 30
1934	Apr 22
1935	Apr 17
1936	Apr 19
1937	Apr 17
1938	Apr 11
1939	Apr 14
1940	Apr 14
1941	Mar 31
1942	Apr 13
1943	Apr 16
1944	Apr 6
1945	Apr 7
1946	Mar 12
1947	Apr 18
1948	Mar 29
1949	Apr 17
1950	Apr 22
1951	Apr 18
1952	Apr 8
1953	Apr 22
1954	Apr 5
1955	Mar 31
1956	Apr 21
1957	Apr 15
1958	Apr 8
1959	Apr 5
1960	Apr 11
1961	Apr 14
1962	Apr 21
1963	May 2
1964	Apr 10
1965	Apr 3
1966	Apr 11
1967	Mar 23
1968	Mar 25
1969	Apr 1
1970	Apr 8
1971	Apr 15
1972	Apr 10
1973	Apr 14
1974	Apr 10
1975	Apr 13
1976	Apr 13
1977	Apr 9
1978	Apr 22
1979	Apr 7
1980	Apr 17
1981	Mar 26
1982	Apr 10
1983	Apr 21
1984	Apr 11
1985	Apr 10
1986	Apr 24
1987	Apr 1
1988	Apr 20
1989	May 8
1990	Apr 12
1991	Mar 12
1992	Apr 6
1993	Mar 20
1994	Apr 8
1995	Mar 19
1996	Apr 10
1997	Apr 18
1998	Mar 23
1999	Mar 16
2000	Apr 5
2001	Apr 19
2002	Apr 7
2003	Mar 31
2004	Mar 23
2005	Mar 19
2006	Mar 27
2007	Apr 9
2008	Mar 25
2009	Apr 8
2010	Mar 7
2011	Apr 6
2012	Apr 12
2013	Mar 29
2014	Apr 17
2015	Apr 5
2016	Apr 10
2017	Mar 23
2018	Apr 8
2019	Apr 3
2020	Mar 8
2021	Apr 22
2022	Mar 28
2023	Mar 21
2024	Apr 6

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1929	189
1930	174
1931	172
1932	195
1933	209
1934	188
1935	173
1936	194
1937	180
1938	217
1939	183
1940	189
1941	207
1942	196
1943	184
1944	213
1945	191
1946	245
1947	166
1948	203
1949	201
1950	196
1951	198
1952	194
1953	197
1954	208
1955	207
1956	203
1957	194
1958	204
1959	216
1960	196
1961	195
1962	186
1963	181
1964	183
1965	204
1966	205
1967	210
1968	215
1969	204
1970	192
1971	203
1972	191
1973	186
1974	176
1975	200
1976	187
1977	191
1978	216
1979	202
1980	208
1981	207
1982	190
1983	197
1984	209
1985	212
1986	202
1987	203
1988	175
1989	180
1990	197
1991	236
1992	195
1993	222
1994	202
1995	230
1996	206
1997	200
1998	227
1999	222
2000	219
2001	190
2002	224
2003	223
2004	231
2005	224
2006	221
2007	211
2008	218
2009	236
2010	244
2011	206
2012	217
2013	210
2014	199
2015	196
2016	216
2017	232
2018	215
2019	218
2020	254
2021	196
2022	204
2023	224
2024	229

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1929	20.6 °C
1930	21.6 °C
1931	21.1 °C
1932	21.0 °C
1933	21.9 °C
1934	21.9 °C
1935	20.8 °C
1936	21.4 °C
1937	21.0 °C
1938	21.2 °C
1939	21.7 °C
1940	20.6 °C
1941	22.0 °C
1942	21.7 °C
1943	21.4 °C
1944	21.6 °C
1945	21.5 °C
1946	20.8 °C
1947	21.6 °C
1948	21.6 °C
1949	21.2 °C
1950	20.8 °C
1951	21.3 °C
1952	21.7 °C
1953	22.0 °C
1954	21.7 °C
1955	21.8 °C
1956	20.9 °C
1957	21.7 °C
1958	21.1 °C
1959	21.8 °C
1960	21.3 °C
1961	20.2 °C
1962	21.0 °C
1963	20.3 °C
1964	21.1 °C
1965	21.9 °C
1966	21.3 °C
1967	21.2 °C
1968	21.4 °C
1969	21.8 °C
1970	22.3 °C
1971	20.3 °C
1972	20.2 °C
1973	20.9 °C
1974	20.6 °C
1975	21.9 °C
1976	20.4 °C
1977	22.4 °C
1978	21.0 °C
1979	20.8 °C
1980	21.6 °C
1981	21.4 °C
1982	20.9 °C
1983	20.6 °C
1984	20.0 °C
1985	20.9 °C
1986	22.0 °C
1987	22.2 °C
1988	21.2 °C
1989	20.9 °C
1990	21.7 °C
1991	22.4 °C
1992	20.5 °C
1993	22.4 °C
1994	21.0 °C
1995	21.9 °C
1996	20.9 °C
1997	19.9 °C
1998	22.1 °C
1999	21.4 °C
2000	21.0 °C
2001	21.2 °C
2002	22.1 °C
2003	20.9 °C
2004	21.9 °C
2005	22.1 °C
2006	21.9 °C
2007	22.6 °C
2008	22.0 °C
2009	22.0 °C
2010	23.8 °C
2011	22.9 °C
2012	22.2 °C
2013	21.3 °C
2014	21.9 °C
2015	22.9 °C
2016	23.1 °C
2017	22.3 °C
2018	22.9 °C
2019	23.2 °C
2020	21.2 °C
2021	21.7 °C
2022	22.1 °C
2023	21.4 °C
2024	22.5 °C

What this means for you: Since 1929, Oak Ridge's last spring frost has come about 2 days earlier per decade, on average. The frost-free season has grown 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 Greensboro Ap (NOAA GHCN-Daily). Years with too many missing days are left out.

Nearby towns

Stokesdale Summerfield Kernersville Walkertown Walnut Cove Jamestown