When to plant in Grand Forks, ND

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

Safe to plant out

May 24

1 year in 10 has a later frost

Average last frost

May 11

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Oct 1

1 year in 10 by Sep 20

Frost-free days

140

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Grand Forks Univ (Nws) · 4.8 km away · station 253 m, town 253 m. How we match towns to stations

This season

Plan your garden.

Build my Grand Forks plan

Planting dates for common crops

Crop	Start indoors	Plant out or sow	Harvest from
Tomato	Mar 29 – Apr 12	May 24 – Jun 7	Jul 18
Sweet pepper	Mar 15 – Mar 29	May 24 – Jun 7	Jul 23
Lettuce (leaf)	Mar 15 – Mar 22	Apr 19 – May 3	May 29
Peas	—	Apr 19 – May 17	Jun 13
Bush beans	—	May 17 – Jun 7	Jul 6
Carrot	—	Apr 26 – Jun 7	Jun 25
Beet	—	Apr 26 – Jun 7	Jun 15
Potato	—	Apr 26 – May 17	Jul 5
Kale	Mar 15 – Mar 29	Apr 26 – May 10	Jun 8
Broccoli	Mar 8 – Mar 22	Apr 19 – May 10	Jun 18
Cucumber	Apr 26 – May 3	May 24 – Jun 7	Jul 13
Summer squash and zucchini	Apr 26 – May 3	May 24 – Jun 7	Jul 8
Winter squash	Apr 26 – May 3	May 24 – Jun 7	Aug 12
Sweet corn	—	May 17 – Jun 7	Jul 16
Onion (from sets)	—	Apr 19 – May 10	Jul 18
Garlic	—	Sep 17 – Oct 15 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Apr 19 – May 17	May 27
Basil	Apr 12 – Apr 26	May 24 – Jun 7	Jul 20

Plan all 65 crops for Grand Forks

Grand Forks'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	May 27
1895	May 21
1896	Apr 20
1898	May 16
1900	May 9
1901	Jun 6
1902	May 10
1903	May 5
1904	May 10
1905	May 28
1906	May 19
1907	Jun 5
1908	Jun 14
1909	May 16
1910	Jun 3
1911	May 12
1912	May 16
1913	May 18
1914	May 15
1915	Jun 9
1917	Jun 4
1918	May 14
1919	May 5
1920	May 14
1921	Jun 4
1922	Apr 27
1923	May 16
1924	May 25
1925	May 17
1926	May 22
1927	Apr 24
1928	Jun 3
1929	May 24
1930	May 29
1931	Jun 7
1932	May 16
1933	May 10
1934	May 24
1935	Jun 6
1936	May 13
1937	May 13
1938	May 24
1939	May 17
1940	Jun 20
1941	May 23
1942	May 14
1943	May 14
1944	May 7
1945	May 16
1946	May 15
1947	May 30
1948	May 9
1949	May 24
1950	May 15
1951	May 10
1952	May 17
1953	Jun 6
1954	May 9
1955	May 8
1956	May 15
1957	May 9
1958	May 22
1959	May 23
1960	May 11
1961	May 26
1962	May 6
1963	May 22
1964	Jun 1
1965	May 27
1966	May 9
1967	May 21
1968	May 23
1970	May 5
1971	May 11
1972	May 8
1974	May 15
1976	May 7
1977	May 7
1978	Apr 22
1980	May 12
1981	May 10
1983	May 25
1985	Apr 26
1986	May 3
1987	Apr 22
1988	May 13
1989	May 6
1990	May 18
1991	May 5
1992	May 4
1993	May 26
1994	May 12
1995	May 17
1996	May 11
1997	May 15
1998	May 5
1999	May 8
2001	Apr 23
2002	May 24
2003	May 20
2004	May 14
2005	May 15
2006	May 5
2007	Apr 18
2008	May 27
2009	May 16
2010	May 9
2011	May 26
2012	Apr 26
2013	May 12
2014	May 16
2015	May 19
2016	May 14
2017	Apr 29
2018	May 11
2019	May 10
2020	May 15
2021	May 10
2022	May 21
2023	May 2
2024	Apr 24
2025	Apr 29
2026	May 10

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1894	110
1895	123
1896	151
1898	114
1900	129
1901	101
1902	123
1903	129
1904	132
1905	106
1906	130
1907	75
1908	105
1909	130
1910	100
1911	134
1912	130
1913	125
1914	132
1915	116
1918	117
1919	142
1920	137
1921	120
1922	120
1923	118
1924	102
1925	137
1926	119
1927	153
1928	111
1929	115
1930	119
1931	83
1932	141
1933	138
1934	113
1935	85
1936	136
1937	121
1938	116
1939	128
1940	81
1941	124
1942	127
1943	118
1944	146
1945	121
1946	144
1947	113
1948	144
1949	121
1950	139
1951	136
1952	137
1953	121
1954	135
1955	124
1956	113
1957	133
1958	130
1959	109
1960	141
1961	124
1962	136
1963	141
1964	101
1966	138
1967	128
1968	131
1970	130
1971	129
1972	140
1974	128
1976	136
1977	147
1978	167
1980	137
1981	140
1983	119
1985	150
1986	132
1987	162
1988	143
1989	139
1990	127
1991	135
1992	140
1993	125
1994	133
1995	125
1996	140
1997	150
1998	147
1999	145
2001	164
2002	130
2003	127
2004	140
2005	142
2006	145
2007	186
2008	139
2009	144
2010	145
2011	111
2012	148
2013	155
2014	140
2015	140
2016	146
2017	162
2018	139
2019	152
2020	115
2021	162
2022	137
2023	160
2024	173
2025	167

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1893	13.5 °C
1894	15.3 °C
1895	14.2 °C
1896	14.6 °C
1898	13.9 °C
1900	16.1 °C
1901	15.0 °C
1902	13.8 °C
1903	13.7 °C
1904	13.1 °C
1905	14.2 °C
1906	15.4 °C
1907	12.3 °C
1908	15.2 °C
1909	14.6 °C
1910	15.0 °C
1911	14.8 °C
1912	14.4 °C
1913	15.5 °C
1914	14.8 °C
1915	13.9 °C
1917	13.5 °C
1918	13.6 °C
1919	15.6 °C
1920	14.3 °C
1921	15.8 °C
1922	15.7 °C
1923	15.2 °C
1924	12.4 °C
1925	15.1 °C
1926	14.3 °C
1927	13.8 °C
1928	13.7 °C
1929	14.1 °C
1930	15.7 °C
1931	16.0 °C
1932	16.1 °C
1933	16.6 °C
1934	15.4 °C
1935	14.3 °C
1936	16.4 °C
1937	15.3 °C
1938	15.3 °C
1939	15.9 °C
1940	14.9 °C
1941	16.0 °C
1942	14.5 °C
1943	14.7 °C
1944	15.6 °C
1945	13.3 °C
1946	15.3 °C
1947	14.4 °C
1948	15.5 °C
1949	15.6 °C
1950	13.1 °C
1951	14.2 °C
1952	16.2 °C
1953	15.4 °C
1954	14.6 °C
1955	17.1 °C
1956	14.0 °C
1957	14.8 °C
1958	15.0 °C
1959	15.8 °C
1960	15.8 °C
1961	15.4 °C
1962	14.7 °C
1963	16.8 °C
1964	15.8 °C
1966	14.9 °C
1967	14.1 °C
1968	14.4 °C
1970	15.7 °C
1971	15.2 °C
1972	15.5 °C
1974	14.9 °C
1976	17.1 °C
1977	16.5 °C
1978	16.0 °C
1980	17.1 °C
1981	16.4 °C
1986	15.9 °C
1987	18.3 °C
1988	18.5 °C
1989	16.9 °C
1990	16.6 °C
1991	17.5 °C
1992	14.4 °C
1993	14.2 °C
1994	15.5 °C
1995	15.0 °C
1996	15.2 °C
1997	14.9 °C
1998	16.7 °C
1999	15.2 °C
2001	16.0 °C
2002	15.1 °C
2003	15.7 °C
2004	13.6 °C
2005	16.0 °C
2006	16.7 °C
2007	15.7 °C
2008	14.5 °C
2009	14.3 °C
2010	16.1 °C
2011	15.3 °C
2012	16.7 °C
2013	15.1 °C
2014	14.9 °C
2015	16.5 °C
2016	16.1 °C
2017	16.0 °C
2018	16.0 °C
2019	15.4 °C
2020	15.8 °C
2021	17.1 °C
2022	15.4 °C
2023	16.5 °C
2024	16.8 °C
2025	16.5 °C
2026	16.7 °C

What this means for you: Since 1894, Grand Forks's last spring frost has come about 1 day earlier per decade, on average. The frost-free season has grown by about 3 days per decade. Year-to-year swings are large, so keep using the safe date rather than the trend.

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

Nearby towns

East Grand Forks, MN Thompson Grand Forks Air Force Base Warren, MN Crookston, MN Larimore