When to plant in Bradford, PA

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

Safe to plant out

May 30

1 year in 10 has a later frost

Average last frost

May 20

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Oct 3

1 year in 10 by Sep 19

Frost-free days

134

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Bradford 4sw Rsch 5 · 8.7 km away · station 506 m, town 442 m. How we match towns to stations

This season

Plan your garden.

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Planting dates for common crops

Crop	Start indoors	Plant out or sow	Harvest from
Tomato	Apr 4 – Apr 18	May 30 – Jun 13	Jul 24
Sweet pepper	Mar 21 – Apr 4	May 30 – Jun 13	Jul 29
Lettuce (leaf)	Mar 18 – Mar 25	Apr 22 – May 6	Jun 1
Peas	—	Apr 13 – May 11	Jun 7
Bush beans	—	May 23 – Jun 13	Jul 12
Carrot	—	Apr 29 – Jun 10	Jun 28
Beet	—	Apr 22 – Jun 3	Jun 11
Potato	—	Apr 29 – May 20	Jul 8
Kale	Mar 11 – Mar 25	Apr 22 – May 6	Jun 4
Broccoli	Mar 11 – Mar 25	Apr 22 – May 13	Jun 21
Cucumber	May 2 – May 9	May 30 – Jun 13	Jul 19
Summer squash and zucchini	May 2 – May 9	May 30 – Jun 13	Jul 14
Winter squash	May 2 – May 9	May 30 – Jun 13	Aug 18
Sweet corn	—	May 23 – Jun 13	Jul 22
Onion (from sets)	—	Apr 22 – May 13	Jul 21
Garlic	—	Sep 19 – Oct 17 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Apr 13 – May 11	May 21
Basil	Apr 18 – May 2	May 30 – Jun 13	Jul 26

Plan all 65 crops for Bradford

Bradford'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
1942	May 26
1943	May 15
1944	Jun 8
1946	Jun 15
1947	May 31
1949	Jun 9
1950	Jun 18
1951	May 14
1952	Jun 2
1953	May 29
1954	May 26
1955	May 21
1956	May 29
1957	Jun 9
1958	Jun 22
1959	May 25
1960	Jun 10
1962	May 12
1963	Jul 9
1964	Jun 5
1965	Jun 4
1966	Jun 2
1967	Jun 1
1968	May 25
1969	May 27
1970	May 19
1971	May 29
1972	Jun 11
1973	May 19
1975	May 14
1976	May 24
1977	Jun 8
1978	Jun 15
1979	Jun 25
1980	Jun 13
1981	May 21
1982	May 10
1983	Jun 8
1984	Jun 14
1985	May 28
1986	Jun 2
1987	May 12
1988	Jun 9
1989	May 28
1990	Jun 4
1991	May 4
1992	May 28
1993	May 29
1994	May 27
1995	May 7
1996	May 31
1997	May 27
1998	May 22
1999	May 9
2000	May 15
2001	May 31
2002	May 24
2003	May 22
2004	May 30
2005	May 19
2006	May 24
2007	May 19
2008	May 30
2009	Jun 1
2010	May 12
2011	May 10
2012	May 18
2013	May 27
2014	May 19
2015	May 24
2016	May 20
2017	May 9
2018	May 1
2019	May 15
2020	May 21
2021	May 15
2022	May 9
2023	May 26
2024	Apr 27
2025	Jun 2
2026	May 13

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1942	101
1943	119
1944	79
1946	79
1947	114
1949	92
1950	91
1951	138
1952	114
1953	103
1954	109
1955	114
1956	102
1957	91
1958	81
1959	114
1960	112
1962	116
1963	66
1964	99
1965	86
1966	105
1967	101
1968	133
1969	140
1970	138
1971	118
1972	103
1973	124
1975	137
1976	121
1977	119
1978	100
1979	86
1980	113
1981	130
1982	109
1983	97
1984	66
1985	105
1986	86
1988	110
1989	118
1990	104
1991	139
1992	117
1993	112
1994	127
1995	125
1996	124
1997	126
1998	145
1999	134
2000	112
2001	121
2002	136
2003	133
2004	127
2005	153
2006	128
2007	162
2008	126
2009	132
2010	150
2011	148
2012	143
2013	135
2014	143
2015	143
2016	142
2017	144
2018	167
2019	142
2020	120
2021	165
2022	146
2023	145
2024	166
2025	128

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1942	16.0 °C
1943	15.1 °C
1944	16.0 °C
1946	14.2 °C
1947	15.3 °C
1949	15.4 °C
1950	13.9 °C
1951	14.7 °C
1952	15.2 °C
1953	14.8 °C
1954	14.4 °C
1955	15.6 °C
1956	13.3 °C
1957	14.5 °C
1958	13.8 °C
1959	15.8 °C
1960	14.9 °C
1962	14.1 °C
1963	13.7 °C
1964	14.9 °C
1965	14.4 °C
1966	13.9 °C
1967	13.8 °C
1968	15.1 °C
1969	15.1 °C
1970	15.6 °C
1971	14.7 °C
1972	14.5 °C
1973	15.4 °C
1975	14.2 °C
1976	13.6 °C
1977	14.8 °C
1978	13.4 °C
1979	14.4 °C
1980	14.1 °C
1981	13.8 °C
1982	13.3 °C
1983	14.0 °C
1984	13.3 °C
1985	14.8 °C
1986	15.0 °C
1988	14.6 °C
1989	13.9 °C
1990	14.3 °C
1991	15.8 °C
1992	13.6 °C
1993	14.6 °C
1994	14.4 °C
1995	14.8 °C
1996	14.4 °C
1997	13.1 °C
1998	15.2 °C
1999	15.2 °C
2000	14.2 °C
2001	14.7 °C
2002	15.6 °C
2003	14.7 °C
2004	15.2 °C
2005	15.7 °C
2006	15.2 °C
2007	14.7 °C
2008	14.8 °C
2009	14.2 °C
2010	15.8 °C
2011	15.9 °C
2012	15.5 °C
2013	15.0 °C
2014	14.7 °C
2015	15.6 °C
2016	15.6 °C
2017	15.5 °C
2018	16.1 °C
2019	15.6 °C
2020	15.0 °C
2021	15.8 °C
2022	15.5 °C
2023	15.3 °C
2024	16.4 °C
2025	16.0 °C
2026	16.0 °C

What this means for you: Since 1942, Bradford's last spring frost has come about 2 days earlier per decade, on average. The frost-free season has grown by about 6 days per decade. Year-to-year swings are large, so keep using the safe date rather than the trend.

Source: daily records from Bradford 4sw Rsch 5 (NOAA GHCN-Daily). Years with too many missing days are left out.

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