When to plant in Aiken, SC

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

Safe to plant out

Apr 15

1 year in 10 has a later frost

Average last frost

Mar 30

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Oct 29

1 year in 10 by Oct 15

Frost-free days

210

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Aiken 5se · 7.9 km away · station 150 m, town 157 m. How we match towns to stations

This season

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Planting dates for common crops

Crop	Start indoors	Plant out or sow	Harvest from
Tomato	Feb 18 – Mar 4	Apr 15 – Apr 29	Jun 9
Sweet pepper	Feb 4 – Feb 18	Apr 15 – Apr 29	Jun 14
Lettuce (leaf)	Jan 26 – Feb 2	Mar 2 – Mar 16	Apr 11
Peas	—	Feb 16 – Mar 16	Apr 12
Bush beans	—	Apr 8 – Apr 29	May 28
Carrot	—	Mar 9 – Apr 20	May 8
Beet	—	Mar 2 – Apr 13	Apr 21
Potato	—	Mar 9 – Mar 30	May 18
Kale	Jan 19 – Feb 2	Mar 2 – Mar 16	Apr 14
Broccoli	Jan 19 – Feb 2	Mar 2 – Mar 23	May 1
Cucumber	Mar 18 – Mar 25	Apr 15 – Apr 29	Jun 4
Summer squash and zucchini	Mar 18 – Mar 25	Apr 15 – Apr 29	May 30
Winter squash	Mar 18 – Mar 25	Apr 15 – Apr 29	Jul 4
Sweet corn	—	Apr 8 – Apr 29	Jun 7
Onion (from sets)	—	Mar 2 – Mar 23	May 31
Garlic	—	Oct 15 – Nov 12 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Feb 16 – Mar 16	Mar 26
Basil	Mar 4 – Mar 18	Apr 15 – Apr 29	Jun 11

Plan all 65 crops for Aiken

Aiken'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
1902	Apr 9
1904	Apr 5
1906	Mar 21
1907	Apr 14
1908	Feb 28
1909	Mar 26
1910	Apr 26
1911	Mar 16
1912	Mar 10
1913	Mar 28
1914	Mar 23
1915	Apr 4
1917	Mar 6
1918	Feb 5
1919	Apr 1
1920	Apr 6
1921	Apr 11
1922	Mar 22
1923	Apr 1
1924	Mar 25
1925	Mar 6
1926	Mar 16
1927	Mar 25
1928	Mar 19
1929	Mar 10
1930	Mar 6
1931	Mar 10
1932	Mar 15
1933	Mar 6
1934	Mar 15
1935	Mar 1
1936	Apr 4
1937	Mar 29
1938	Apr 10
1939	Mar 17
1940	Apr 13
1941	Mar 19
1942	Apr 1
1943	Apr 15
1944	Apr 6
1945	Feb 9
1946	Feb 21
1948	Mar 13
1949	Mar 19
1950	Apr 7
1951	Mar 31
1952	Mar 17
1953	Apr 21
1954	Mar 16
1955	Mar 29
1956	Mar 25
1957	Mar 10
1958	Mar 22
1959	Mar 19
1960	Mar 24
1961	Mar 10
1962	Mar 17
1963	Mar 23
1964	Mar 31
1965	Mar 22
1966	Mar 25
1967	Mar 19
1968	Mar 24
1969	Mar 28
1970	Apr 3
1971	Apr 4
1972	Apr 10
1973	Mar 22
1974	Apr 11
1975	Apr 6
1976	Apr 10
1977	Mar 23
1978	Mar 18
1981	Mar 28
1982	Apr 24
1983	Apr 22
1984	Apr 1
1985	Apr 12
1986	Apr 25
1987	Apr 6
1988	Apr 9
1989	Apr 12
1990	Apr 14
1991	Mar 20
1992	Apr 5
1993	Apr 23
1994	Apr 2
1995	Mar 13
1996	Apr 11
1998	Mar 24
1999	Mar 27
2000	Apr 5
2001	Apr 19
2002	Mar 23
2004	Mar 23
2005	Mar 9
2006	Mar 26
2007	Apr 9
2008	Mar 26

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1902	232
1904	222
1906	235
1907	197
1908	250
1909	200
1910	185
1911	241
1912	237
1913	226
1914	218
1915	225
1917	231
1918	323
1919	243
1920	220
1921	262
1922	245
1923	222
1924	239
1925	262
1926	239
1927	239
1928	246
1929	264
1930	246
1931	273
1932	242
1933	247
1934	241
1935	267
1936	225
1937	208
1938	228
1939	233
1940	215
1941	235
1942	224
1943	185
1944	213
1946	284
1948	272
1949	229
1950	212
1951	217
1953	199
1954	228
1955	219
1956	229
1957	231
1958	253
1959	243
1960	228
1961	243
1962	222
1963	224
1964	235
1965	240
1966	223
1967	230
1968	233
1969	231
1970	226
1971	218
1972	221
1973	232
1974	193
1975	222
1976	201
1977	233
1978	262
1983	189
1984	224
1985	234
1986	202
1987	193
1988	182
1989	191
1990	196
1991	201
1992	202
1993	188
1994	208
1995	240
1996	191
1998	212
1999	210
2000	188
2001	181
2002	228
2004	236
2005	253
2006	212
2007	212

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1902	24.9 °C
1904	23.8 °C
1906	24.9 °C
1907	23.4 °C
1908	24.2 °C
1909	24.1 °C
1910	23.6 °C
1911	24.6 °C
1912	23.9 °C
1913	23.6 °C
1914	23.8 °C
1915	24.0 °C
1917	23.1 °C
1918	23.9 °C
1919	23.9 °C
1920	23.5 °C
1921	24.1 °C
1922	24.1 °C
1923	23.7 °C
1924	23.5 °C
1925	25.7 °C
1926	24.4 °C
1927	23.9 °C
1928	23.0 °C
1929	23.4 °C
1930	24.4 °C
1931	24.2 °C
1932	24.6 °C
1933	25.0 °C
1934	24.7 °C
1935	24.5 °C
1936	24.5 °C
1937	23.8 °C
1938	24.1 °C
1939	24.2 °C
1940	23.4 °C
1941	24.8 °C
1942	24.2 °C
1943	24.2 °C
1944	23.9 °C
1946	23.0 °C
1948	23.6 °C
1949	23.1 °C
1950	23.1 °C
1951	23.5 °C
1953	24.5 °C
1954	25.2 °C
1955	24.6 °C
1956	24.1 °C
1957	24.2 °C
1958	24.1 °C
1959	23.9 °C
1960	24.0 °C
1961	22.6 °C
1962	23.6 °C
1963	23.4 °C
1964	23.6 °C
1965	23.5 °C
1966	22.9 °C
1967	22.4 °C
1968	23.6 °C
1969	22.5 °C
1970	23.6 °C
1971	23.1 °C
1972	23.2 °C
1973	23.5 °C
1974	23.1 °C
1975	23.5 °C
1976	23.2 °C
1977	24.9 °C
1978	24.2 °C
1981	23.6 °C
1982	23.6 °C
1983	23.0 °C
1984	23.4 °C
1986	25.2 °C
1987	24.8 °C
1988	23.8 °C
1989	23.7 °C
1990	24.6 °C
1991	24.8 °C
1992	23.5 °C
1993	24.4 °C
1994	23.8 °C
1995	24.4 °C
1996	24.0 °C
1998	25.2 °C
1999	24.5 °C
2000	24.7 °C
2001	23.8 °C
2002	24.8 °C
2004	24.7 °C
2005	23.6 °C
2006	24.1 °C
2007	23.9 °C
2008	23.5 °C

What this means for you: Since 1902, Aiken's last spring frost has come about 1 day later per decade, on average. The frost-free season has shrunk 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 Aiken 5se (NOAA GHCN-Daily). Years with too many missing days are left out.

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