When to plant in Lexington, OH

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

Safe to plant out
May 20
1 year in 10 has a later frost
Average last frost
May 2
about a 50% chance of a later one
Average first fall frost
Oct 9
1 year in 10 by Sep 22
Frost-free days
157
median, 1991–2020

Station used: Mansfield 5 W · 9.6 km away · station 412 m, town 371 m. How we match towns to stations

This season

Plan your garden.

Build my Lexington plan

Planting dates for common crops

CropStart indoorsPlant out or sowHarvest from
Tomato Mar 25 – Apr 8 May 20 – Jun 3 Jul 14
Sweet pepper Mar 11 – Mar 25 May 20 – Jun 3 Jul 19
Lettuce (leaf) Feb 28 – Mar 7 Apr 4 – Apr 18 May 14
Peas — Mar 30 – Apr 27 May 24
Bush beans — May 13 – Jun 3 Jul 2
Carrot — Apr 11 – May 23 Jun 10
Beet — Apr 7 – May 19 May 27
Potato — Apr 11 – May 2 Jun 20
Kale Feb 23 – Mar 9 Apr 6 – Apr 20 May 19
Broccoli Feb 21 – Mar 7 Apr 4 – Apr 25 Jun 3
Cucumber Apr 22 – Apr 29 May 20 – Jun 3 Jul 9
Summer squash and zucchini Apr 22 – Apr 29 May 20 – Jun 3 Jul 4
Winter squash Apr 22 – Apr 29 May 20 – Jun 3 Aug 8
Sweet corn — May 13 – Jun 3 Jul 12
Onion (from sets) — Apr 4 – Apr 25 Jul 3
Garlic — Sep 25 – Oct 23 (fall) following summer
Spinach — Mar 30 – Apr 27 May 7
Basil Apr 8 – Apr 22 May 20 – Jun 3 Jul 16

Plan all 65 crops for Lexington

Lexington's weather over time

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

Apr 15May 1May 15Jun 1Jun 15 1920193019401950196019701980199020002010
Each year's last spring frostLong-term trend
See the data as a table
YearLast spring frost
1917May 3
1918Apr 25
1919Apr 27
1921Apr 18
1922Apr 29
1923May 10
1925May 25
1926May 4
1927Apr 28
1928May 8
1929May 17
1930Apr 26
1931May 1
1932May 3
1933Apr 27
1934May 16
1935May 17
1936May 15
1937Apr 23
1938May 13
1939May 4
1940May 10
1941May 18
1942Apr 23
1943May 2
1944Apr 30
1945Jun 6
1946May 13
1947May 30
1949Jun 8
1950May 8
1951May 24
1952May 3
1953Apr 28
1954May 22
1955May 18
1956May 24
1957May 7
1958May 21
1959May 16
1960May 2
1961May 30
1962Apr 24
1963May 24
1964May 30
1965Apr 28
1966Jun 2
1967May 8
1968May 7
1969May 26
1970May 18
1971May 23
1972Jun 11
1973May 18
1974May 8
1975May 7
1976May 19
1977May 9
1978May 3
1979May 5
1980May 10
1981Apr 26
1982May 1
1985Apr 11
1986May 5
1987May 1
1988Apr 26
1989May 8
1990Apr 19
1991Apr 13
1992Apr 13
1993Apr 28
1994May 2
1995Apr 26
1996May 14
1997May 2
1998Apr 28
1999Apr 25
2000Apr 27
2001Apr 26
2002May 22
2003Apr 27
2004May 4
2006May 21
2007Apr 18
2008Apr 30
2009May 18
2010May 10
2012Apr 29
2013May 27
2014May 19
2015Apr 28
2018Apr 30
2019Apr 15

What this means for you: Since 1917, Lexington'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 Mansfield 5 W (NOAA GHCN-Daily). Years with too many missing days are left out.

Nearby towns