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When to plant in Sparta, NC

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

Safe to plant out
May 23
1 year in 10 has a later frost
Average last frost
May 9
about a 50% chance of a later one
Average first fall frost
Oct 6
1 year in 10 by Sep 21
Frost-free days
149
median, 1991–2020

Station used: Transou · 20.2 km away · station 864 m, town 893 m. How we match towns to stations

This season

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Planting dates for common crops

CropStart indoorsPlant out or sowHarvest from
Tomato Mar 28 – Apr 11 May 23 – Jun 6 Jul 17
Sweet pepper Mar 14 – Mar 28 May 23 – Jun 6 Jul 22
Lettuce (leaf) Mar 7 – Mar 14 Apr 11 – Apr 25 May 21
Peas — Mar 28 – Apr 25 May 22
Bush beans — May 16 – Jun 6 Jul 5
Carrot — Apr 18 – May 30 Jun 17
Beet — Apr 11 – May 23 May 31
Potato — Apr 18 – May 9 Jun 27
Kale Feb 28 – Mar 14 Apr 11 – Apr 25 May 24
Broccoli Feb 28 – Mar 14 Apr 11 – May 2 Jun 10
Cucumber Apr 25 – May 2 May 23 – Jun 6 Jul 12
Summer squash and zucchini Apr 25 – May 2 May 23 – Jun 6 Jul 7
Winter squash Apr 25 – May 2 May 23 – Jun 6 Aug 11
Sweet corn — May 16 – Jun 6 Jul 15
Onion (from sets) — Apr 11 – May 2 Jul 10
Garlic — Sep 22 – Oct 20 (fall) following summer
Spinach — Mar 28 – Apr 25 May 5
Basil Apr 11 – Apr 25 May 23 – Jun 6 Jul 19

Plan all 65 crops for Sparta

Sparta's weather over time

How the growing season has shifted here, year by year, from the station's own records.

Apr 15May 1May 15Jun 1Jun 15 19501960197019801990200020102020
Each year's last spring frostLong-term trend
See the data as a table
YearLast spring frost
1947May 31
1948May 23
1949May 28
1950Apr 23
1951May 13
1952May 14
1953Apr 22
1954Jun 6
1955May 2
1956Jun 4
1957May 8
1958May 14
1959May 16
1960May 14
1961May 31
1962Apr 25
1963May 24
1964Apr 16
1965Apr 29
1966Jun 2
1967May 24
1968May 22
1969May 13
1970May 19
1971May 23
1972Jun 11
1973May 18
1974May 8
1975Apr 27
1976May 9
1977Jun 8
1978May 11
1979May 30
1980May 10
1981May 22
1982May 5
1983May 18
1984May 31
1985May 4
1986May 23
1987May 9
1988Jun 5
1989May 13
1990May 8
1991Apr 25
1993May 23
1994May 29
1995May 8
1996May 14
1997May 23
1998Apr 28
1999May 28
2000May 17
2001May 14
2002May 23
2003Apr 24
2004Apr 17
2005May 4
2006May 23
2007May 9
2008May 6
2009May 20
2010May 11
2011May 7
2012May 11
2013May 15
2014Apr 25
2015May 3
2016Apr 25
2017Apr 9
2018May 2
2019May 15
2020May 13
2021May 15
2022May 11
2023May 6
2024Apr 24
2025Apr 17
2026May 13

What this means for you: Since 1947, Sparta's last spring frost has come about 2 days earlier per decade, on average. The frost-free season has grown by about 4 days per decade. Year-to-year swings are large, so keep using the safe date rather than the trend.

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

Nearby towns

ThurmondGalax, VAHaysMulberryJeffersonFairplains