When to plant in West Marion, NC

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

Safe to plant out

Apr 28

1 year in 10 has a later frost

Average last frost

Apr 12

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Oct 24

1 year in 10 by Oct 13

Frost-free days

198

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Marion · 3.4 km away · station 430 m, town 447 m. How we match towns to stations

This season

Plan your garden.

Build my West Marion plan

Planting dates for common crops

Crop	Start indoors	Plant out or sow	Harvest from
Tomato	Mar 3 – Mar 17	Apr 28 – May 12	Jun 22
Sweet pepper	Feb 17 – Mar 3	Apr 28 – May 12	Jun 27
Lettuce (leaf)	Feb 8 – Feb 15	Mar 15 – Mar 29	Apr 24
Peas	—	Mar 1 – Mar 29	Apr 25
Bush beans	—	Apr 21 – May 12	Jun 10
Carrot	—	Mar 22 – May 3	May 21
Beet	—	Mar 15 – Apr 26	May 4
Potato	—	Mar 22 – Apr 12	May 31
Kale	Feb 1 – Feb 15	Mar 15 – Mar 29	Apr 27
Broccoli	Feb 1 – Feb 15	Mar 15 – Apr 5	May 14
Cucumber	Mar 31 – Apr 7	Apr 28 – May 12	Jun 17
Summer squash and zucchini	Mar 31 – Apr 7	Apr 28 – May 12	Jun 12
Winter squash	Mar 31 – Apr 7	Apr 28 – May 12	Jul 17
Sweet corn	—	Apr 21 – May 12	Jun 20
Onion (from sets)	—	Mar 15 – Apr 5	Jun 13
Garlic	—	Oct 10 – Nov 7 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Mar 1 – Mar 29	Apr 8
Basil	Mar 17 – Mar 31	Apr 28 – May 12	Jun 24

Plan all 65 crops for West Marion

West Marion'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
1894	Apr 13
1896	Apr 4
1897	Apr 21
1898	Apr 28
1899	Apr 17
1900	Apr 14
1901	Apr 24
1902	Apr 3
1903	Apr 24
1904	Apr 22
1905	Apr 19
1906	May 10
1907	Apr 15
1908	Apr 4
1909	May 2
1910	May 15
1911	Apr 10
1912	Apr 4
1913	Mar 29
1914	Apr 11
1915	Apr 5
1916	Apr 10
1917	Apr 10
1918	Apr 14
1919	Apr 19
1920	Apr 14
1921	Apr 12
1922	Apr 2
1923	May 9
1924	Apr 3
1925	Apr 7
1927	Apr 25
1928	Apr 29
1929	Apr 19
1931	Mar 30
1934	Apr 22
1935	Apr 17
1937	Apr 17
1939	Apr 25
1940	Apr 13
1941	Mar 30
1942	Apr 13
1943	May 2
1945	Apr 8
1946	Apr 28
1947	Apr 18
1949	Apr 20
1951	Apr 4
1954	Apr 2
1955	Apr 1
1956	Apr 21
1957	Apr 16
1958	Apr 8
1959	Mar 30
1960	Apr 11
1961	Apr 17
1962	Apr 21
1963	May 2
1964	Apr 10
1965	Apr 3
1966	Apr 11
1967	Mar 23
1969	Apr 1
1970	Apr 15
1971	Mar 27
1972	Apr 10
1973	May 6
1974	Apr 9
1975	Apr 6
1976	Mar 23
1977	Apr 7
1978	Apr 21
1979	Mar 26
1980	Mar 19
1981	Mar 26
1982	Apr 11
1983	Apr 21
1984	Mar 12
1985	May 4
1986	Mar 23
1987	Apr 5
1988	Apr 20
1989	May 8
1990	Apr 13
1991	Apr 1
1992	Apr 4
1993	Apr 22
2002	Apr 24
2003	Apr 24
2005	May 3
2006	Apr 13
2007	Apr 11
2008	May 1
2013	Mar 30
2014	Apr 17
2015	Mar 29
2017	Mar 20
2018	Apr 17
2019	Apr 1
2020	Apr 11
2021	Apr 22
2022	Apr 10
2023	Apr 10
2024	Apr 7
2025	Apr 14
2026	Mar 29

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1896	189
1897	199
1898	177
1899	166
1900	208
1902	209
1903	185
1908	210
1909	163
1910	166
1911	206
1912	212
1913	206
1914	199
1915	187
1916	194
1917	185
1918	201
1919	208
1920	171
1921	179
1922	221
1924	180
1927	171
1928	179
1929	186
1934	188
1935	172
1937	180
1939	172
1940	166
1942	168
1943	168
1945	184
1946	156
1947	162
1949	199
1951	213
1954	188
1955	213
1956	202
1957	186
1958	225
1959	217
1960	208
1961	192
1962	186
1963	184
1964	183
1965	204
1966	205
1967	219
1969	210
1970	214
1971	222
1972	192
1973	187
1974	176
1975	207
1976	208
1977	217
1978	223
1979	214
1980	244
1981	207
1982	207
1983	206
1984	239
1985	188
1986	212
1987	199
1988	170
1989	165
1991	189
1992	198
1993	192
2002	176
2005	172
2006	183
2008	171
2013	207
2014	199
2015	202
2017	223
2018	207
2019	216
2020	205
2021	197
2022	192
2023	204
2024	192
2025	200

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1896	21.9 °C
1897	20.1 °C
1898	20.1 °C
1899	21.4 °C
1900	22.1 °C
1902	21.0 °C
1903	20.5 °C
1908	21.1 °C
1909	20.6 °C
1910	20.5 °C
1911	21.2 °C
1912	20.5 °C
1913	20.5 °C
1914	21.0 °C
1915	20.4 °C
1916	20.4 °C
1917	19.5 °C
1918	20.0 °C
1919	20.5 °C
1920	19.5 °C
1921	21.1 °C
1922	20.6 °C
1923	20.4 °C
1924	19.9 °C
1925	22.0 °C
1927	20.3 °C
1928	19.7 °C
1929	20.0 °C
1933	21.6 °C
1934	21.4 °C
1935	20.6 °C
1936	21.8 °C
1937	20.7 °C
1939	21.4 °C
1940	19.8 °C
1941	20.8 °C
1942	21.4 °C
1943	21.3 °C
1944	21.7 °C
1945	21.3 °C
1946	20.8 °C
1947	20.8 °C
1949	21.0 °C
1950	21.3 °C
1951	21.9 °C
1954	21.9 °C
1955	21.6 °C
1956	21.0 °C
1957	21.6 °C
1958	21.4 °C
1959	21.7 °C
1960	21.1 °C
1961	20.0 °C
1962	21.0 °C
1963	21.0 °C
1964	21.1 °C
1965	21.4 °C
1966	20.8 °C
1967	20.3 °C
1969	21.1 °C
1970	21.9 °C
1971	21.2 °C
1972	20.4 °C
1973	20.7 °C
1974	20.0 °C
1975	21.1 °C
1976	20.1 °C
1977	21.8 °C
1978	21.3 °C
1979	20.1 °C
1980	21.9 °C
1981	21.6 °C
1982	21.3 °C
1983	20.8 °C
1986	21.8 °C
1987	21.5 °C
1988	21.6 °C
1989	20.6 °C
1991	21.6 °C
1992	20.2 °C
1993	21.5 °C
2002	20.6 °C
2003	18.9 °C
2004	19.6 °C
2005	18.6 °C
2006	20.2 °C
2007	20.6 °C
2008	20.2 °C
2011	22.3 °C
2014	20.1 °C
2015	21.2 °C
2016	22.4 °C
2017	21.0 °C
2018	21.6 °C
2019	22.7 °C
2020	20.9 °C
2021	21.3 °C
2022	21.3 °C
2023	20.5 °C
2024	21.5 °C
2025	21.1 °C
2026	22.2 °C

What this means for you: Since 1894, West Marion'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 Marion (NOAA GHCN-Daily). Years with too many missing days are left out.

Nearby towns

Marion Glen Alpine Black Mountain Spruce Pine Salem Lake Lure