When to plant in Sunset Beach, NC

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

Safe to plant out

Apr 3

1 year in 10 has a later frost

Average last frost

Mar 23

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Nov 14

1 year in 10 by Nov 1

Frost-free days

235

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Shallotte Ag · 12.5 km away · station 6 m, town 0 m. How we match towns to stations

This season

Plan your garden.

Crop	Start indoors	Plant out or sow	Harvest from
Tomato	Feb 6 – Feb 20	Apr 3 – Apr 17	May 28
Sweet pepper	Jan 23 – Feb 6	Apr 3 – Apr 17	Jun 2
Lettuce (leaf)	Jan 19 – Jan 26	Feb 23 – Mar 9	Apr 4
Peas	—	Feb 9 – Mar 9	Apr 5
Bush beans	—	Mar 27 – Apr 17	May 16
Carrot	—	Mar 2 – Apr 13	May 1
Beet	—	Feb 23 – Apr 6	Apr 14
Potato	—	Mar 2 – Mar 23	May 11
Kale	Jan 12 – Jan 26	Feb 23 – Mar 9	Apr 7
Broccoli	Jan 12 – Jan 26	Feb 23 – Mar 16	Apr 24
Cucumber	Mar 6 – Mar 13	Apr 3 – Apr 17	May 23
Summer squash and zucchini	Mar 6 – Mar 13	Apr 3 – Apr 17	May 18
Winter squash	Mar 6 – Mar 13	Apr 3 – Apr 17	Jun 22
Sweet corn	—	Mar 27 – Apr 17	May 26
Onion (from sets)	—	Feb 23 – Mar 16	May 24
Garlic	—	Oct 31 – Nov 28 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Feb 9 – Mar 9	Mar 19
Basil	Feb 20 – Mar 6	Apr 3 – Apr 17	May 30

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

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

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

See the data as a table

What this means for you: This station's record is too short to show a reliable trend yet.

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