When to plant in Salem, NC

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

Safe to plant out

Apr 19

1 year in 10 has a later frost

Average last frost

Apr 7

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Oct 27

1 year in 10 by Oct 13

Frost-free days

206

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Morganton · 4.1 km away · station 360 m, town 371 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 22 – Mar 8	Apr 19 – May 3	Jun 13
Sweet pepper	Feb 8 – Feb 22	Apr 19 – May 3	Jun 18
Lettuce (leaf)	Feb 3 – Feb 10	Mar 10 – Mar 24	Apr 19
Peas	—	Feb 24 – Mar 24	Apr 20
Bush beans	—	Apr 12 – May 3	Jun 1
Carrot	—	Mar 17 – Apr 28	May 16
Beet	—	Mar 10 – Apr 21	Apr 29
Potato	—	Mar 17 – Apr 7	May 26
Kale	Jan 27 – Feb 10	Mar 10 – Mar 24	Apr 22
Broccoli	Jan 27 – Feb 10	Mar 10 – Mar 31	May 9
Cucumber	Mar 22 – Mar 29	Apr 19 – May 3	Jun 8
Summer squash and zucchini	Mar 22 – Mar 29	Apr 19 – May 3	Jun 3
Winter squash	Mar 22 – Mar 29	Apr 19 – May 3	Jul 8
Sweet corn	—	Apr 12 – May 3	Jun 11
Onion (from sets)	—	Mar 10 – Mar 31	Jun 8
Garlic	—	Oct 13 – Nov 10 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Feb 24 – Mar 24	Apr 3
Basil	Mar 8 – Mar 22	Apr 19 – May 3	Jun 15

Plan all 65 crops for Salem

Salem'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
1898	Apr 27
1899	Apr 17
1901	Apr 22
1903	Apr 24
1904	Apr 22
1905	Apr 19
1906	Apr 24
1907	Apr 25
1908	Apr 4
1909	Apr 11
1910	Mar 18
1911	Apr 10
1912	Apr 9
1913	Mar 29
1914	Apr 11
1915	Apr 5
1916	Apr 10
1917	Apr 10
1918	Apr 14
1919	Apr 27
1920	Apr 15
1921	Apr 12
1922	Apr 2
1923	Apr 10
1924	Apr 3
1925	Apr 1
1926	Apr 27
1927	Apr 25
1928	Apr 17
1929	Mar 18
1931	Mar 31
1932	Apr 28
1933	Apr 13
1934	Apr 26
1935	Mar 18
1936	Apr 20
1937	Apr 17
1938	Apr 24
1939	Apr 14
1940	May 5
1941	Mar 31
1942	Apr 20
1943	May 2
1944	Apr 7
1945	Apr 8
1946	Apr 13
1947	Apr 18
1948	Apr 4
1949	Apr 25
1950	Apr 22
1951	Apr 18
1952	May 8
1953	Apr 22
1954	May 22
1956	Apr 21
1957	Apr 16
1958	Apr 14
1959	Apr 5
1960	May 13
1961	Apr 30
1962	Apr 22
1963	May 2
1964	Apr 11
1965	Apr 3
1966	May 11
1967	Apr 29
1968	Apr 26
1969	Apr 25
1970	Apr 8
1971	May 4
1972	Apr 26
1973	Apr 15
1974	Apr 25
1975	Apr 13
1976	Apr 27
1977	Mar 9
1978	Apr 22
1979	Apr 29
1980	Apr 17
1981	May 3
1982	Apr 24
1983	Apr 27
1984	Apr 19
1985	Apr 12
1986	May 4
1987	Apr 10
1988	Apr 20
1989	May 8
1990	Apr 19
1991	Mar 31
1992	Apr 29
1993	Apr 4
1994	Apr 9
1995	Apr 26
1996	Apr 10
1997	Apr 15
1998	Apr 13
1999	Mar 29
2000	Apr 10
2004	Mar 24
2005	Mar 20
2006	Mar 28
2009	Mar 23
2010	Apr 20
2011	Mar 30
2012	Apr 13
2013	Mar 30
2014	Apr 18
2015	Apr 6
2016	Apr 11
2017	Mar 24
2018	Apr 9
2019	Apr 2
2020	Apr 12
2021	Apr 24
2022	Apr 3
2023	Apr 11
2024	Apr 7
2025	Mar 28
2026	Mar 30

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1899	187
1901	175
1903	177
1904	176
1905	176
1906	170
1907	170
1908	181
1909	196
1910	224
1911	197
1912	207
1913	206
1914	199
1915	187
1916	194
1917	185
1918	201
1919	192
1920	197
1921	179
1922	221
1923	204
1924	201
1925	192
1926	183
1927	195
1928	201
1929	221
1931	200
1932	161
1933	195
1934	171
1935	202
1936	193
1937	180
1938	184
1939	183
1940	185
1941	194
1942	189
1943	168
1944	191
1945	184
1946	171
1947	208
1948	197
1950	203
1951	176
1952	165
1953	198
1954	138
1956	173
1957	185
1958	175
1959	205
1960	160
1961	179
1962	185
1963	167
1964	177
1965	204
1966	162
1967	173
1968	161
1969	175
1970	191
1971	184
1972	176
1973	185
1974	160
1975	172
1976	173
1977	222
1978	169
1979	167
1980	192
1981	152
1982	175
1983	183
1984	166
1985	177
1986	167
1987	180
1988	170
1989	153
1990	190
1991	190
1992	154
1993	201
1994	191
1995	178
1996	206
1997	190
1998	192
1999	209
2000	182
2004	229
2005	220
2006	200
2009	209
2010	199
2011	213
2012	209
2013	209
2014	198
2015	195
2016	215
2017	231
2018	215
2019	213
2020	219
2021	196
2022	199
2023	204
2024	192
2025	227

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1898	21.5 °C
1899	22.0 °C
1901	20.4 °C
1902	21.1 °C
1903	20.5 °C
1904	19.9 °C
1905	21.2 °C
1906	21.2 °C
1907	19.6 °C
1908	20.4 °C
1909	20.8 °C
1910	20.6 °C
1911	21.7 °C
1912	21.1 °C
1913	20.9 °C
1914	21.4 °C
1915	20.8 °C
1916	20.7 °C
1917	20.3 °C
1918	20.4 °C
1919	21.1 °C
1920	19.7 °C
1921	21.5 °C
1922	21.2 °C
1923	20.8 °C
1924	20.2 °C
1925	22.3 °C
1926	21.8 °C
1927	21.4 °C
1928	20.8 °C
1929	21.1 °C
1931	21.6 °C
1932	21.2 °C
1933	21.7 °C
1934	21.9 °C
1935	21.5 °C
1936	21.2 °C
1937	20.9 °C
1938	21.3 °C
1939	21.9 °C
1940	20.5 °C
1941	21.6 °C
1942	21.3 °C
1943	21.6 °C
1944	21.6 °C
1945	21.8 °C
1946	21.2 °C
1947	21.8 °C
1948	22.1 °C
1950	20.8 °C
1951	21.7 °C
1952	22.4 °C
1953	22.5 °C
1954	21.6 °C
1956	20.6 °C
1957	21.2 °C
1958	21.1 °C
1959	21.7 °C
1960	20.9 °C
1961	19.7 °C
1962	20.7 °C
1963	20.5 °C
1964	20.7 °C
1965	21.1 °C
1966	20.3 °C
1967	19.4 °C
1968	20.6 °C
1969	20.9 °C
1970	22.3 °C
1971	21.2 °C
1972	20.9 °C
1973	21.4 °C
1974	20.8 °C
1975	21.7 °C
1976	20.5 °C
1977	22.4 °C
1978	21.9 °C
1979	20.7 °C
1980	22.1 °C
1981	21.3 °C
1982	20.6 °C
1983	20.2 °C
1984	20.3 °C
1985	20.8 °C
1986	22.2 °C
1987	21.6 °C
1988	21.5 °C
1989	20.5 °C
1990	21.3 °C
1991	21.2 °C
1992	19.4 °C
1993	22.2 °C
1994	20.6 °C
1995	20.9 °C
1996	21.5 °C
1997	20.3 °C
1998	21.3 °C
2000	20.4 °C
2001	20.9 °C
2004	20.9 °C
2005	21.0 °C
2006	20.9 °C
2007	21.9 °C
2008	21.2 °C
2009	20.6 °C
2010	22.2 °C
2011	21.3 °C
2012	21.3 °C
2013	20.4 °C
2014	20.7 °C
2015	21.6 °C
2016	22.0 °C
2017	21.3 °C
2018	21.9 °C
2019	22.0 °C
2020	20.5 °C
2021	20.9 °C
2022	21.4 °C
2023	20.8 °C
2024	21.8 °C
2025	21.5 °C
2026	22.0 °C

What this means for you: Since 1898, Salem's last spring frost has stayed at about the same time of year. Year-to-year swings are large, so keep using the safe date rather than the trend.

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

Nearby towns

Morganton Glen Alpine Drexel Valdese Rutherford College Connelly Springs