When to plant in Smithfield, NC

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

Safe to plant out

Apr 18

1 year in 10 has a later frost

Average last frost

Apr 1

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Nov 2

1 year in 10 by Oct 21

Frost-free days

216

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Smithfield · 1.1 km away · station 46 m, town 45 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 21 – Mar 7	Apr 18 – May 2	Jun 12
Sweet pepper	Feb 7 – Feb 21	Apr 18 – May 2	Jun 17
Lettuce (leaf)	Jan 28 – Feb 4	Mar 4 – Mar 18	Apr 13
Peas	—	Feb 18 – Mar 18	Apr 14
Bush beans	—	Apr 11 – May 2	May 31
Carrot	—	Mar 11 – Apr 22	May 10
Beet	—	Mar 4 – Apr 15	Apr 23
Potato	—	Mar 11 – Apr 1	May 20
Kale	Jan 21 – Feb 4	Mar 4 – Mar 18	Apr 16
Broccoli	Jan 21 – Feb 4	Mar 4 – Mar 25	May 3
Cucumber	Mar 21 – Mar 28	Apr 18 – May 2	Jun 7
Summer squash and zucchini	Mar 21 – Mar 28	Apr 18 – May 2	Jun 2
Winter squash	Mar 21 – Mar 28	Apr 18 – May 2	Jul 7
Sweet corn	—	Apr 11 – May 2	Jun 10
Onion (from sets)	—	Mar 4 – Mar 25	Jun 2
Garlic	—	Oct 19 – Nov 16 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Feb 18 – Mar 18	Mar 28
Basil	Mar 7 – Mar 21	Apr 18 – May 2	Jun 14

Plan all 65 crops for Smithfield

Smithfield'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
1893	Mar 30
1912	Mar 11
1913	Apr 22
1914	Apr 10
1915	Apr 5
1916	Mar 20
1917	Mar 20
1918	Apr 6
1919	Apr 26
1920	Apr 15
1922	Apr 30
1923	Apr 10
1924	Apr 27
1925	Mar 16
1926	Apr 21
1927	Apr 12
1928	Apr 17
1929	Mar 18
1930	Apr 25
1931	Apr 8
1932	Apr 16
1933	Mar 30
1934	Mar 25
1935	Mar 15
1936	Apr 20
1937	Apr 13
1938	Apr 11
1939	Apr 30
1940	Apr 29
1941	Mar 31
1942	Apr 12
1943	Apr 16
1944	Apr 6
1945	Apr 7
1946	Mar 12
1947	Apr 1
1948	Mar 29
1949	Mar 21
1950	Apr 22
1951	Mar 27
1952	Apr 8
1953	Apr 21
1954	Mar 22
1955	Mar 31
1956	Apr 21
1957	Apr 16
1958	Apr 8
1959	Mar 19
1960	Apr 11
1961	Apr 8
1962	Apr 17
1963	Apr 16
1964	Apr 2
1965	Apr 3
1966	May 11
1967	Mar 31
1968	Mar 26
1969	Apr 1
1970	Apr 8
1971	Mar 31
1972	Apr 10
1973	Apr 14
1974	Apr 11
1975	Apr 13
1976	Apr 28
1977	Apr 7
1978	Mar 18
1979	Mar 17
1980	Apr 17
1981	Apr 7
1982	Apr 24
1983	Apr 21
1984	Mar 12
1985	Apr 10
1986	Apr 24
1987	Apr 1
1988	Apr 20
1989	Apr 13
1990	Apr 8
1991	Mar 16
1992	Apr 7
1995	Apr 4
1996	Mar 25
1997	Apr 11
1998	Mar 15
1999	Mar 17
2000	Mar 21
2001	Apr 20
2002	Apr 30
2003	Apr 1
2009	Apr 18
2010	Mar 10
2011	Apr 5
2012	Apr 13
2013	Mar 30
2014	Mar 28
2016	Apr 10
2017	Mar 24
2018	Mar 24
2019	Apr 3
2020	Apr 5
2024	Apr 23
2025	Mar 10
2026	Mar 29

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1893	215
1912	230
1913	182
1914	200
1915	212
1916	228
1917	219
1918	210
1919	193
1920	197
1922	193
1923	204
1924	179
1925	208
1926	188
1927	206
1928	192
1929	236
1930	176
1931	193
1932	195
1933	209
1934	202
1935	206
1936	193
1937	184
1938	217
1939	168
1940	174
1941	194
1942	197
1943	184
1944	192
1945	186
1946	245
1947	183
1948	203
1949	229
1950	197
1951	221
1952	195
1953	199
1954	223
1955	208
1956	202
1957	194
1958	216
1959	235
1960	197
1961	201
1962	190
1963	197
1964	192
1965	204
1966	172
1967	211
1968	192
1969	205
1970	192
1971	218
1972	192
1973	186
1974	175
1975	200
1976	176
1977	192
1979	207
1980	178
1981	195
1982	176
1983	198
1984	239
1985	212
1986	178
1987	203
1988	175
1989	190
1990	201
1991	233
1992	195
1995	214
1996	222
1997	219
1998	236
1999	231
2000	204
2001	188
2002	192
2009	202
2010	242
2011	207
2012	203
2013	209
2014	219
2016	211
2017	231
2018	231
2019	219
2024	206
2025	245

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1893	22.4 °C
1912	23.5 °C
1913	22.7 °C
1914	22.8 °C
1915	22.8 °C
1916	22.3 °C
1917	21.4 °C
1918	21.6 °C
1919	21.8 °C
1920	21.4 °C
1922	23.1 °C
1923	22.0 °C
1924	21.7 °C
1925	23.8 °C
1926	23.0 °C
1927	21.9 °C
1928	21.9 °C
1929	21.9 °C
1930	22.7 °C
1931	22.8 °C
1932	22.7 °C
1933	23.3 °C
1934	22.7 °C
1935	22.0 °C
1936	22.5 °C
1937	22.3 °C
1938	22.8 °C
1939	22.8 °C
1940	22.4 °C
1941	23.4 °C
1942	23.6 °C
1943	22.8 °C
1944	21.8 °C
1945	22.0 °C
1946	22.0 °C
1947	22.5 °C
1948	22.6 °C
1949	22.6 °C
1950	22.4 °C
1951	22.9 °C
1952	23.7 °C
1953	23.4 °C
1954	23.5 °C
1955	23.4 °C
1956	22.9 °C
1957	23.7 °C
1958	22.8 °C
1959	23.9 °C
1960	23.3 °C
1961	22.4 °C
1962	22.5 °C
1963	22.2 °C
1964	22.0 °C
1965	22.7 °C
1966	21.9 °C
1967	21.4 °C
1968	22.8 °C
1969	22.7 °C
1970	23.1 °C
1971	21.9 °C
1972	21.0 °C
1973	22.6 °C
1974	22.2 °C
1975	22.0 °C
1976	21.8 °C
1977	22.9 °C
1978	21.9 °C
1979	21.4 °C
1980	22.6 °C
1981	21.9 °C
1982	21.3 °C
1989	22.1 °C
1990	22.1 °C
1991	23.0 °C
1992	21.5 °C
1994	22.2 °C
1995	22.0 °C
1996	22.1 °C
1997	21.2 °C
1998	22.9 °C
1999	22.1 °C
2000	21.4 °C
2001	20.1 °C
2009	22.0 °C
2010	23.8 °C
2012	22.3 °C
2013	21.8 °C
2014	22.0 °C
2016	23.9 °C
2017	24.0 °C
2018	24.2 °C
2023	23.3 °C
2024	23.9 °C
2025	23.1 °C
2026	23.9 °C

What this means for you: Since 1893, Smithfield's last spring frost has stayed at about the same time of year. The frost-free season has grown by about 1 days per decade. Year-to-year swings are large, so keep using the safe date rather than the trend.

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

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