When to plant in Waterford, PA

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

Safe to plant out

May 14

1 year in 10 has a later frost

Average last frost

Apr 28

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Nov 4

1 year in 10 by Oct 23

Frost-free days

191

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Erie Intl Ap · 22.4 km away · station 222 m, town 367 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	Mar 19 – Apr 2	May 14 – May 28	Jul 8
Sweet pepper	Mar 5 – Mar 19	May 14 – May 28	Jul 13
Lettuce (leaf)	Feb 28 – Mar 7	Apr 4 – Apr 18	May 14
Peas	—	Apr 4 – May 2	May 29
Bush beans	—	May 7 – May 28	Jun 26
Carrot	—	Apr 14 – May 26	Jun 13
Beet	—	Apr 14 – May 26	Jun 3
Potato	—	Apr 14 – May 5	Jun 23
Kale	Feb 28 – Mar 14	Apr 11 – Apr 25	May 24
Broccoli	Feb 21 – Mar 7	Apr 4 – Apr 25	Jun 3
Cucumber	Apr 16 – Apr 23	May 14 – May 28	Jul 3
Summer squash and zucchini	Apr 16 – Apr 23	May 14 – May 28	Jun 28
Winter squash	Apr 16 – Apr 23	May 14 – May 28	Aug 2
Sweet corn	—	May 7 – May 28	Jul 6
Onion (from sets)	—	Apr 4 – Apr 25	Jul 3
Garlic	—	Oct 13 – Nov 10 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Apr 4 – May 2	May 12
Basil	Apr 2 – Apr 16	May 14 – May 28	Jul 10

Plan all 65 crops for Waterford

Waterford'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 25
1929	Apr 2
1930	Apr 24
1931	Apr 12
1932	Apr 17
1933	Apr 27
1934	Apr 28
1935	Apr 18
1936	Apr 24
1937	Apr 12
1938	Apr 10
1939	Apr 16
1940	Apr 20
1941	Apr 7
1942	Apr 13
1943	May 1
1944	Apr 18
1945	Apr 5
1946	Apr 11
1947	May 10
1948	Apr 10
1949	May 11
1950	Apr 22
1951	Apr 21
1952	May 3
1953	Apr 24
1954	May 21
1955	Apr 8
1956	May 25
1957	May 17
1958	Apr 30
1959	Apr 23
1960	Apr 29
1961	May 2
1962	Apr 20
1963	May 24
1964	Apr 11
1965	Apr 25
1966	May 11
1967	May 23
1968	May 7
1969	May 1
1970	May 7
1971	Apr 27
1972	Jun 11
1973	Apr 25
1974	May 8
1975	Apr 28
1976	May 8
1977	May 8
1978	May 3
1979	May 2
1980	May 16
1981	May 20
1982	Apr 29
1983	May 10
1984	Apr 11
1985	Apr 17
1986	Apr 24
1987	May 5
1988	Apr 25
1989	Apr 24
1990	Apr 18
1991	Apr 12
1992	Apr 15
1993	Apr 27
1994	Apr 23
1995	Apr 16
1996	Apr 24
1997	May 7
1998	Apr 11
1999	Apr 25
2000	Apr 28
2001	Apr 29
2002	May 20
2003	Apr 27
2004	May 4
2005	Apr 14
2006	May 23
2007	Apr 20
2008	Apr 15
2009	May 18
2010	May 10
2011	Apr 30
2012	Apr 29
2013	Apr 21
2014	Apr 24
2015	Apr 28
2016	Apr 14
2017	May 9
2018	Apr 30
2019	Apr 29
2020	May 13
2021	Apr 26
2022	Apr 29
2023	Apr 27
2024	Apr 26

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1926	173
1927	194
1928	209
1929	220
1930	176
1931	228
1932	207
1933	181
1934	168
1935	217
1936	184
1937	194
1938	218
1939	200
1940	181
1941	216
1942	195
1943	192
1944	218
1945	228
1946	224
1947	182
1948	176
1949	157
1950	201
1951	193
1952	169
1953	166
1954	161
1955	209
1956	138
1957	147
1958	158
1959	187
1960	191
1961	189
1962	187
1963	184
1964	182
1965	185
1966	167
1967	164
1968	176
1969	173
1970	184
1971	193
1972	120
1973	194
1974	147
1975	181
1976	171
1977	158
1978	166
1979	185
1980	159
1981	156
1982	176
1983	171
1984	205
1985	194
1986	177
1987	173
1988	187
1989	193
1990	191
1991	204
1992	205
1993	166
1994	213
1995	200
1996	192
1997	182
1998	202
1999	204
2000	184
2001	161
2002	157
2003	194
2004	188
2005	215
2006	162
2007	196
2008	190
2009	152
2010	174
2011	180
2012	190
2013	190
2014	202
2015	207
2016	211
2017	183
2018	193
2019	192
2020	187
2021	207
2022	181
2023	186
2024	200

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1926	15.9 °C
1927	16.2 °C
1928	16.4 °C
1929	16.9 °C
1930	17.7 °C
1931	18.1 °C
1932	16.8 °C
1933	18.3 °C
1934	18.2 °C
1935	16.6 °C
1936	17.8 °C
1937	17.5 °C
1938	17.8 °C
1939	17.7 °C
1940	16.5 °C
1941	18.3 °C
1942	18.1 °C
1943	16.9 °C
1944	18.1 °C
1945	17.4 °C
1946	17.0 °C
1947	17.3 °C
1948	16.6 °C
1949	17.1 °C
1950	15.3 °C
1951	16.1 °C
1952	16.8 °C
1953	16.5 °C
1954	16.4 °C
1955	18.0 °C
1956	15.6 °C
1957	16.3 °C
1958	15.9 °C
1959	18.3 °C
1960	17.2 °C
1961	16.5 °C
1962	17.0 °C
1963	16.0 °C
1964	17.0 °C
1965	16.4 °C
1966	16.1 °C
1967	15.9 °C
1968	16.7 °C
1969	16.0 °C
1970	16.2 °C
1971	15.0 °C
1972	14.8 °C
1973	16.2 °C
1974	15.4 °C
1975	16.2 °C
1976	15.4 °C
1977	16.3 °C
1978	16.1 °C
1979	15.7 °C
1980	16.1 °C
1981	16.7 °C
1982	16.0 °C
1983	17.3 °C
1984	16.8 °C
1985	17.6 °C
1986	17.4 °C
1987	18.1 °C
1988	17.4 °C
1989	16.5 °C
1990	17.0 °C
1991	18.9 °C
1992	16.4 °C
1993	17.8 °C
1994	17.2 °C
1995	17.5 °C
1996	16.6 °C
1997	15.6 °C
1998	18.3 °C
1999	18.0 °C
2000	16.8 °C
2001	17.4 °C
2002	17.8 °C
2003	16.4 °C
2004	17.0 °C
2005	17.9 °C
2006	17.2 °C
2007	17.4 °C
2008	18.0 °C
2009	16.7 °C
2010	18.6 °C
2011	18.0 °C
2012	18.2 °C
2013	17.5 °C
2014	17.2 °C
2015	18.2 °C
2016	18.3 °C
2017	17.8 °C
2018	18.8 °C
2019	18.3 °C
2020	18.1 °C
2021	18.9 °C
2022	17.9 °C
2023	17.2 °C
2024	19.3 °C

What this means for you: Since 1926, Waterford's last spring frost has come about 1 day later per decade, on average. Year-to-year swings are large, so keep using the safe date rather than the trend.

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

Nearby towns

Union City Edinboro Cambridge Springs Wesleyville Erie Northwest Harborcreek