When to plant in Bergen, NY

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

Last spring frost

Early · riskyApr 149 years in 10 still get a later frost
TypicalApr 29about half of years get a later frost
Safe to plant outMay 131 year in 10 gets a later frost

Hardy crops like peas and spinach are timed from the typical date. Wait for the safe date before planting out tomatoes, peppers and squash.

First fall frost

EarlyOct 21 year in 10 has frost by then
TypicalOct 20about half of years have had frost
LateNov 49 years in 10 have had frost by then

A typical year has 172 frost-free days. Plan for tender crops to be ripe by the early date.

Station used: Rochester Gtr Intl · 22.0 km away · station 165 m, town 185 m. How we match towns to stations

This season

Plan your garden.

Build my Bergen plan

Planting dates for common crops

Crop	Start indoors	Plant out or sow	Harvest from
Tomato	Mar 18 – Apr 1	May 13 – May 27	Jul 7
Sweet pepper	Mar 4 – Mar 18	May 13 – May 27	Jul 12
Lettuce (leaf)	Mar 2 – Mar 9	Apr 6 – Apr 20	May 16
Peas	—	Apr 6 – May 4	May 31
Bush beans	—	May 6 – May 27	Jun 25
Carrot	—	Apr 16 – May 28	Jun 15
Beet	—	Apr 16 – May 28	Jun 5
Potato	—	Apr 16 – May 7	Jun 25
Kale	Mar 2 – Mar 16	Apr 13 – Apr 27	May 26
Broccoli	Feb 23 – Mar 9	Apr 6 – Apr 27	Jun 5
Cucumber	Apr 15 – Apr 22	May 13 – May 27	Jul 2
Summer squash and zucchini	Apr 15 – Apr 22	May 13 – May 27	Jun 27
Winter squash	Apr 15 – Apr 22	May 13 – May 27	Aug 1
Sweet corn	—	May 6 – May 27	Jul 5
Onion (from sets)	—	Apr 6 – Apr 27	Jul 5
Garlic	—	Oct 6 – Nov 3 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Apr 6 – May 4	May 14
Basil	Apr 1 – Apr 15	May 13 – May 27	Jul 9

Plan all 65 crops for Bergen

Bergen'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
1926	May 4
1927	Apr 24
1928	Apr 27
1929	Apr 18
1930	Apr 24
1931	May 1
1932	Apr 27
1933	Apr 27
1934	Apr 28
1935	Apr 17
1936	Apr 27
1937	Apr 12
1938	Apr 11
1939	Apr 16
1940	Apr 15
1941	May 3
1942	Apr 13
1943	May 14
1944	Apr 29
1945	Apr 23
1946	May 10
1947	May 10
1948	May 1
1949	Apr 29
1950	May 8
1951	Apr 21
1952	May 3
1953	Apr 29
1954	Apr 9
1955	Apr 8
1956	May 25
1957	May 17
1958	May 10
1959	May 16
1960	May 2
1961	May 2
1962	May 10
1963	May 24
1964	Apr 16
1965	Apr 25
1966	May 11
1967	May 23
1968	May 7
1969	May 1
1970	May 7
1971	May 1
1972	Apr 28
1973	Apr 25
1974	May 8
1975	Apr 28
1976	Apr 13
1977	May 8
1978	May 2
1979	May 5
1980	Apr 24
1981	May 18
1982	Apr 29
1983	May 17
1984	Apr 22
1985	Apr 17
1986	May 4
1987	May 5
1988	Apr 28
1989	Apr 24
1990	Apr 19
1991	Apr 12
1992	Apr 15
1993	Apr 27
1994	Apr 23
1995	Apr 30
1996	May 13
1997	May 18
1998	Apr 28
1999	Apr 29
2000	Apr 14
2001	Apr 29
2002	Apr 27
2003	May 4
2004	Apr 28
2005	May 13
2006	May 7
2007	Apr 11
2008	May 1
2009	Apr 17
2010	May 10
2011	Apr 22
2012	Apr 30
2013	May 14
2014	Apr 28
2015	May 23
2016	Apr 28
2017	Apr 8
2018	Apr 23
2019	Apr 29
2020	May 13
2021	Apr 23
2022	Apr 30
2023	May 18
2024	Apr 26

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1926	180
1927	195
1928	182
1929	182
1930	177
1931	188
1932	198
1933	169
1934	168
1935	172
1936	181
1937	184
1938	216
1939	184
1940	184
1941	166
1942	168
1943	149
1944	169
1945	187
1946	163
1947	139
1948	155
1949	169
1950	160
1951	174
1952	160
1953	167
1954	180
1955	197
1956	137
1957	132
1958	148
1959	123
1960	174
1961	173
1962	166
1963	122
1964	173
1965	162
1966	159
1967	158
1968	177
1969	173
1970	183
1971	187
1972	164
1973	193
1974	147
1975	156
1976	187
1977	157
1978	166
1979	157
1980	168
1981	134
1982	170
1983	155
1984	166
1985	177
1986	159
1987	160
1988	161
1989	168
1990	183
1991	169
1992	173
1993	155
1994	171
1995	187
1996	143
1997	136
1998	184
1999	181
2000	167
2001	161
2002	179
2003	151
2004	188
2005	167
2006	171
2007	200
2008	170
2009	176
2010	174
2011	187
2012	164
2013	162
2014	193
2015	147
2016	185
2017	212
2018	189
2019	188
2020	156
2021	194
2022	171
2023	165
2024	183

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1926	15.3 °C
1927	15.9 °C
1928	16.2 °C
1929	16.5 °C
1930	17.3 °C
1931	18.1 °C
1932	16.5 °C
1933	18.1 °C
1934	17.6 °C
1935	16.4 °C
1936	17.2 °C
1937	17.2 °C
1938	17.4 °C
1939	17.4 °C
1940	16.5 °C
1941	17.6 °C
1942	17.5 °C
1943	16.2 °C
1944	17.3 °C
1945	16.5 °C
1946	16.1 °C
1947	16.9 °C
1948	16.9 °C
1949	17.7 °C
1950	15.8 °C
1951	16.5 °C
1952	17.6 °C
1953	17.0 °C
1954	16.3 °C
1955	18.2 °C
1956	15.2 °C
1957	16.6 °C
1958	15.9 °C
1959	18.1 °C
1960	16.8 °C
1961	16.5 °C
1962	16.5 °C
1963	15.6 °C
1964	16.9 °C
1965	16.1 °C
1966	16.2 °C
1967	15.9 °C
1968	16.7 °C
1969	16.9 °C
1970	17.6 °C
1971	16.3 °C
1972	17.0 °C
1973	17.8 °C
1974	16.5 °C
1975	16.6 °C
1976	16.7 °C
1977	17.2 °C
1978	17.2 °C
1979	16.2 °C
1980	17.6 °C
1981	16.8 °C
1982	16.4 °C
1983	16.8 °C
1984	16.4 °C
1985	16.6 °C
1986	16.2 °C
1987	17.3 °C
1988	16.8 °C
1989	16.4 °C
1990	16.6 °C
1991	17.8 °C
1992	15.4 °C
1993	16.7 °C
1994	16.9 °C
1995	17.0 °C
1996	16.1 °C
1997	15.1 °C
1998	17.3 °C
1999	17.3 °C
2000	16.1 °C
2001	17.1 °C
2002	17.7 °C
2003	16.2 °C
2004	16.2 °C
2005	17.4 °C
2006	17.6 °C
2007	17.4 °C
2008	17.4 °C
2009	15.9 °C
2010	18.0 °C
2011	17.5 °C
2012	17.9 °C
2013	17.2 °C
2014	17.0 °C
2015	18.0 °C
2016	18.0 °C
2017	17.6 °C
2018	18.4 °C
2019	17.3 °C
2020	16.9 °C
2021	17.6 °C
2022	17.6 °C
2023	17.1 °C
2024	18.7 °C

What this means for you: Since 1926, Bergen'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 Rochester Gtr Intl (NOAA GHCN-Daily). Years with too many missing days are left out.

Nearby towns

Churchville Byron Le Roy Brockport Caledonia Spencerport