When to plant in Stanley, NC

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

Safe to plant out

Apr 11

1 year in 10 has a later frost

Average last frost

Mar 25

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Nov 8

1 year in 10 by Oct 29

Frost-free days

227

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Gastonia · 11.1 km away · station 213 m, town 256 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 14 – Feb 28	Apr 11 – Apr 25	Jun 5
Sweet pepper	Jan 31 – Feb 14	Apr 11 – Apr 25	Jun 10
Lettuce (leaf)	Jan 21 – Jan 28	Feb 25 – Mar 11	Apr 6
Peas	—	Feb 11 – Mar 11	Apr 7
Bush beans	—	Apr 4 – Apr 25	May 24
Carrot	—	Mar 4 – Apr 15	May 3
Beet	—	Feb 25 – Apr 8	Apr 16
Potato	—	Mar 4 – Mar 25	May 13
Kale	Jan 14 – Jan 28	Feb 25 – Mar 11	Apr 9
Broccoli	Jan 14 – Jan 28	Feb 25 – Mar 18	Apr 26
Cucumber	Mar 14 – Mar 21	Apr 11 – Apr 25	May 31
Summer squash and zucchini	Mar 14 – Mar 21	Apr 11 – Apr 25	May 26
Winter squash	Mar 14 – Mar 21	Apr 11 – Apr 25	Jun 30
Sweet corn	—	Apr 4 – Apr 25	Jun 3
Onion (from sets)	—	Feb 25 – Mar 18	May 26
Garlic	—	Oct 25 – Nov 22 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Feb 11 – Mar 11	Mar 21
Basil	Feb 28 – Mar 14	Apr 11 – Apr 25	Jun 7

Plan all 65 crops for Stanley

Stanley'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
1931	Mar 18
1932	Mar 16
1933	Mar 22
1934	Mar 24
1935	Mar 13
1936	Apr 4
1937	Mar 29
1938	Mar 1
1939	Mar 19
1940	Apr 13
1941	Mar 19
1942	Mar 4
1943	Apr 15
1944	Apr 6
1945	Apr 7
1946	Feb 25
1948	Mar 30
1949	Mar 19
1950	Apr 15
1951	Mar 25
1952	Mar 17
1953	Mar 27
1954	Mar 22
1955	Mar 30
1956	Apr 20
1957	Mar 21
1958	Mar 23
1959	Mar 19
1960	Apr 11
1961	Mar 19
1962	Apr 16
1963	Mar 23
1965	Mar 22
1966	May 11
1967	Apr 29
1968	Apr 12
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	May 11
1978	Apr 22
1979	Mar 27
1980	Mar 23
1981	Apr 7
1982	Apr 10
1983	Apr 21
1984	Apr 2
1985	Apr 10
1986	Apr 24
1987	Apr 1
1988	Apr 12
1989	May 8
1990	Apr 8
1991	Mar 8
1992	Apr 3
1993	Apr 3
1994	Mar 19
1995	Mar 11
1996	Mar 24
1997	Apr 19
1998	Mar 24
1999	Mar 16
2000	Mar 16
2001	Mar 29
2002	Mar 25
2003	Mar 31
2004	Mar 24
2005	Mar 20
2006	Mar 27
2007	Mar 19
2009	Apr 9
2010	Mar 8
2011	Mar 30
2012	Mar 7
2013	Mar 30
2014	Apr 17
2015	Mar 30
2016	Apr 10
2017	Mar 18
2018	Apr 17
2019	Mar 7
2020	Mar 9
2021	Apr 22
2022	Apr 10
2023	Mar 22
2024	Mar 20
2025	Mar 7
2026	Mar 29

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1931	233
1932	240
1933	231
1934	233
1935	254
1936	225
1937	208
1938	268
1939	231
1940	209
1942	236
1943	208
1945	211
1946	279
1949	231
1950	210
1951	223
1952	217
1953	224
1954	223
1955	218
1957	220
1958	250
1959	234
1960	210
1961	234
1962	192
1965	216
1966	175
1967	173
1968	175
1969	205
1970	192
1971	203
1972	192
1973	209
1974	175
1975	200
1976	187
1977	159
1978	223
1979	213
1980	227
1981	195
1982	208
1983	197
1984	218
1985	212
1986	203
1987	196
1988	183
1989	178
1991	240
1992	219
1996	224
1997	211
1998	227
2000	243
2001	212
2002	237
2003	227
2004	230
2005	242
2006	210
2007	233
2009	232
2010	244
2011	214
2012	245
2013	208
2014	198
2015	229
2016	224
2017	225
2018	207
2019	246
2020	238
2021	205
2022	191
2023	224
2024	246
2025	248

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1931	23.1 °C
1932	22.9 °C
1933	23.6 °C
1934	23.5 °C
1935	22.6 °C
1936	23.4 °C
1937	22.7 °C
1938	23.1 °C
1939	23.8 °C
1940	22.7 °C
1941	23.9 °C
1942	23.6 °C
1943	23.7 °C
1944	23.5 °C
1945	23.7 °C
1946	22.6 °C
1949	22.8 °C
1950	22.7 °C
1951	23.4 °C
1952	23.6 °C
1953	23.2 °C
1954	23.5 °C
1955	23.4 °C
1957	23.0 °C
1958	22.6 °C
1959	23.5 °C
1960	22.9 °C
1961	21.7 °C
1962	22.7 °C
1963	22.4 °C
1964	22.4 °C
1965	23.1 °C
1966	21.5 °C
1967	20.7 °C
1968	21.8 °C
1969	22.2 °C
1970	22.9 °C
1971	21.8 °C
1972	21.5 °C
1973	21.7 °C
1974	21.6 °C
1975	22.1 °C
1976	21.1 °C
1977	23.3 °C
1978	22.3 °C
1979	21.6 °C
1980	22.9 °C
1981	22.6 °C
1982	21.9 °C
1983	22.0 °C
1984	21.4 °C
1985	22.1 °C
1986	23.2 °C
1987	22.9 °C
1988	22.9 °C
1989	21.7 °C
1990	23.1 °C
1991	24.2 °C
1992	22.2 °C
1996	22.2 °C
1997	21.9 °C
1998	23.9 °C
2000	22.6 °C
2001	22.6 °C
2002	23.4 °C
2003	21.8 °C
2004	22.5 °C
2005	22.8 °C
2007	23.6 °C
2008	22.5 °C
2009	22.1 °C
2010	23.9 °C
2011	22.8 °C
2012	22.9 °C
2013	21.9 °C
2014	22.0 °C
2015	23.4 °C
2016	23.9 °C
2017	23.0 °C
2018	24.0 °C
2019	24.3 °C
2020	22.5 °C
2021	22.2 °C
2022	22.6 °C
2023	21.8 °C
2024	22.9 °C
2025	22.8 °C
2026	23.4 °C

What this means for you: Since 1931, Stanley'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 Gastonia (NOAA GHCN-Daily). Years with too many missing days are left out.

Nearby towns

Dallas Ranlo Mount Holly Lowesville Lowell Cramerton