Sow by Season
Choose your town

When to plant in Central Islip, NY

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

Last spring frost

  1. Early · riskyApr 29 years in 10 still get a later frost
  2. TypicalApr 12about half of years get a later frost
  3. Safe to plant outApr 231 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

  1. EarlyOct 121 year in 10 has frost by then
  2. TypicalOct 29about half of years have had frost
  3. LateNov 109 years in 10 have had frost by then

A typical year has 202 frost-free days. Plan for tender crops to be ripe by the early date.

Station used: Islip-Li Macarthur Ap · 8.4 km away · station 25 m, town 27 m. How we match towns to stations

This season

Plan your garden.

Build my Central Islip plan

Planting dates for common crops

CropStart indoorsPlant out or sowHarvest from
Tomato Mar 2 – Mar 16 Apr 27 – May 11 Jun 21
Sweet pepper Feb 16 – Mar 2 Apr 27 – May 11 Jun 26
Lettuce (leaf) Feb 20 – Feb 27 Mar 27 – Apr 10 May 6
Peas — Mar 27 – Apr 24 May 21
Bush beans — Apr 22 – May 13 Jun 11
Carrot — Apr 5 – May 17 Jun 4
Beet — Apr 5 – May 17 May 25
Potato — Apr 5 – Apr 26 Jun 14
Kale Feb 20 – Mar 6 Apr 3 – Apr 17 May 16
Broccoli Feb 13 – Feb 27 Mar 27 – Apr 17 May 26
Cucumber Mar 30 – Apr 6 Apr 27 – May 11 Jun 16
Summer squash and zucchini Mar 30 – Apr 6 Apr 27 – May 11 Jun 11
Winter squash Mar 30 – Apr 6 Apr 27 – May 11 Jul 16
Sweet corn — Apr 22 – May 13 Jun 21
Onion (from sets) — Mar 27 – Apr 17 Jun 25
Garlic — Oct 15 – Nov 12 (fall) following summer
Spinach — Mar 27 – Apr 24 May 4
Basil Mar 16 – Mar 30 Apr 27 – May 11 Jun 23

Plan all 65 crops for Central Islip

Central Islip's weather over time

How the growing season has shifted here, year by year, from the station's own records.

Apr 1Apr 15May 1 197019801990200020102020
Each year's last spring frostLong-term trend
See the data as a table
YearLast spring frost
1964Apr 12
1965Apr 25
1966Apr 17
1967Apr 13
1968Apr 29
1969Apr 15
1970Apr 11
1971Apr 17
1972Apr 28
1973Apr 15
1974Apr 20
1975Apr 22
1976Apr 13
1977Apr 11
1978Apr 3
1979Apr 21
1980Apr 18
1981Apr 22
1982Apr 23
1983Mar 31
1984Apr 10
1985Apr 10
1986Apr 13
1987Apr 2
1988Mar 23
1989Apr 23
1990Apr 19
1991Apr 3
1992Apr 15
1993Apr 8
1994Apr 23
1995Apr 8
1996Apr 9
1997Apr 16
1998Apr 12
1999Mar 27
2000Apr 14
2001Apr 20
2002Apr 27
2003Apr 8
2004Apr 10
2005Apr 17
2006Apr 6
2007Apr 11
2008May 1
2009Apr 17
2010Mar 27
2011Apr 8
2012Apr 6
2013Apr 7
2014Apr 16
2015Apr 25
2016Apr 10
2017Mar 30
2018Apr 11
2019Apr 2
2020Apr 19
2021Apr 4
2022Mar 30
2023Apr 3
2024Mar 24

What this means for you: Since 1964, Central Islip's last spring frost has come about 2 days earlier per decade, on average. The frost-free season has grown by about 4 days per decade. Year-to-year swings are large, so keep using the safe date rather than the trend.

Source: daily records from Islip-Li Macarthur Ap (NOAA GHCN-Daily). Years with too many missing days are left out.

Nearby towns

IslandiaBrentwoodHauppaugeIslip TerraceNorth Great RiverRonkonkoma