When to plant in Barrington, RI

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

Last spring frost

Early · riskyApr 69 years in 10 still get a later frost
TypicalApr 12about half of years get a later frost
Safe to plant outApr 201 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 151 year in 10 has frost by then
TypicalOct 28about half of years have had frost
LateNov 99 years in 10 have had frost by then

A typical year has 200 frost-free days. Plan for tender crops to be ripe by the early date.

Station used: Providence · 10.5 km away · station 16 m, town 7 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 4 – Mar 18	Apr 29 – May 13	Jun 23
Sweet pepper	Feb 18 – Mar 4	Apr 29 – May 13	Jun 28
Lettuce (leaf)	Feb 22 – Mar 1	Mar 29 – Apr 12	May 8
Peas	—	Mar 29 – Apr 26	May 23
Bush beans	—	Apr 23 – May 14	Jun 12
Carrot	—	Apr 7 – May 19	Jun 6
Beet	—	Apr 7 – May 19	May 27
Potato	—	Apr 7 – Apr 28	Jun 16
Kale	Feb 22 – Mar 8	Apr 5 – Apr 19	May 18
Broccoli	Feb 15 – Mar 1	Mar 29 – Apr 19	May 28
Cucumber	Apr 1 – Apr 8	Apr 29 – May 13	Jun 18
Summer squash and zucchini	Apr 1 – Apr 8	Apr 29 – May 13	Jun 13
Winter squash	Apr 1 – Apr 8	Apr 29 – May 13	Jul 18
Sweet corn	—	Apr 23 – May 14	Jun 22
Onion (from sets)	—	Mar 29 – Apr 19	Jun 27
Garlic	—	Oct 14 – Nov 11 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Mar 29 – Apr 26	May 6
Basil	Mar 18 – Apr 1	Apr 29 – May 13	Jun 25

Plan all 65 crops for Barrington

Barrington'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
1948	Apr 28
1949	Apr 18
1950	Apr 13
1951	Mar 27
1952	Apr 12
1953	Apr 14
1954	Apr 10
1955	Apr 9
1956	May 9
1957	Apr 16
1958	Apr 10
1959	Apr 14
1960	Apr 11
1961	Apr 21
1962	Apr 21
1963	Apr 9
1964	Apr 6
1965	Apr 25
1966	Apr 18
1967	May 7
1968	Apr 12
1969	Apr 21
1970	May 7
1971	Apr 17
1972	Apr 28
1973	Apr 14
1974	Apr 11
1975	Apr 22
1976	Apr 13
1977	Apr 11
1978	May 1
1979	Apr 22
1980	Apr 17
1981	Apr 22
1982	Apr 15
1983	Mar 31
1984	Apr 22
1985	May 9
1986	May 4
1987	Apr 2
1988	Mar 23
1989	Apr 23
1990	Apr 19
1991	Apr 13
1992	Apr 28
1993	Apr 8
1994	Apr 9
1995	Apr 11
1996	Apr 9
1997	Apr 15
1998	Apr 13
1999	Apr 11
2000	Apr 14
2001	Apr 20
2002	Apr 7
2003	Apr 25
2004	Apr 6
2005	Apr 16
2006	Apr 7
2007	Apr 11
2008	Apr 16
2009	Apr 13
2010	Mar 28
2011	Apr 16
2012	Apr 11
2013	Apr 7
2014	Apr 18
2015	Apr 6
2016	Apr 10
2017	Mar 26
2018	Apr 11
2019	Apr 11
2020	Apr 29
2021	Apr 4
2022	Mar 30
2023	Apr 10
2024	Apr 8

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1948	173
1949	201
1950	196
1951	186
1952	190
1953	177
1954	180
1955	195
1956	154
1957	203
1958	185
1959	187
1960	192
1961	176
1962	186
1963	208
1964	188
1965	162
1966	191
1967	168
1968	202
1969	177
1970	162
1971	201
1972	165
1973	205
1974	185
1975	191
1976	180
1977	195
1978	167
1979	170
1980	175
1981	171
1982	190
1983	212
1984	166
1985	172
1986	159
1987	195
1988	199
1989	169
1990	190
1991	190
1992	182
1993	185
1994	215
1995	207
1996	205
1997	189
1998	203
1999	186
2000	217
2001	171
2002	208
2003	177
2004	211
2005	208
2006	210
2007	210
2008	187
2009	189
2010	218
2011	196
2012	184
2013	200
2014	203
2015	194
2016	199
2017	227
2018	190
2019	204
2020	183
2021	213
2022	213
2023	205
2024	203

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1948	16.9 °C
1949	18.1 °C
1950	16.3 °C
1951	17.4 °C
1952	18.1 °C
1953	17.5 °C
1954	16.7 °C
1955	17.8 °C
1956	16.1 °C
1957	17.8 °C
1958	16.5 °C
1959	18.1 °C
1960	17.3 °C
1961	17.4 °C
1962	16.5 °C
1963	16.9 °C
1964	16.8 °C
1965	17.4 °C
1966	16.5 °C
1967	16.4 °C
1968	17.4 °C
1969	17.9 °C
1970	17.7 °C
1971	18.3 °C
1972	17.0 °C
1973	18.2 °C
1974	17.4 °C
1975	17.3 °C
1976	17.6 °C
1977	18.4 °C
1978	17.0 °C
1979	17.4 °C
1980	18.1 °C
1981	18.1 °C
1982	17.2 °C
1983	19.0 °C
1984	17.5 °C
1985	17.9 °C
1986	17.2 °C
1987	17.6 °C
1988	17.9 °C
1989	17.8 °C
1990	17.6 °C
1991	18.9 °C
1992	17.0 °C
1993	18.7 °C
1994	18.0 °C
1995	18.0 °C
1996	17.4 °C
1997	17.3 °C
1998	18.4 °C
1999	18.9 °C
2000	17.2 °C
2001	18.2 °C
2002	18.6 °C
2003	17.5 °C
2004	17.8 °C
2005	18.6 °C
2006	18.4 °C
2007	18.4 °C
2008	18.6 °C
2009	17.5 °C
2010	19.9 °C
2011	18.7 °C
2012	18.6 °C
2013	18.5 °C
2014	18.0 °C
2015	19.0 °C
2016	18.9 °C
2017	18.5 °C
2018	19.0 °C
2019	18.6 °C
2020	18.6 °C
2021	19.2 °C
2022	19.3 °C
2023	17.9 °C
2024	18.4 °C

What this means for you: Since 1948, Barrington's last spring frost has come about 1 day earlier per decade, on average. The frost-free season has grown by about 3 days per decade. Year-to-year swings are large, so keep using the safe date rather than the trend.

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

Nearby towns

Warren Seekonk, MA Bristol Ocean Grove, MA East Providence Swansea, MA