When to plant in Carthage, TN

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

Safe to plant out

Apr 25

1 year in 10 has a later frost

Average last frost

Apr 12

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Nov 1

1 year in 10 by Oct 21

Frost-free days

199

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Carthage · 1.0 km away · station 157 m, town 157 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	Feb 28 – Mar 14	Apr 25 – May 9	Jun 19
Sweet pepper	Feb 14 – Feb 28	Apr 25 – May 9	Jun 24
Lettuce (leaf)	Feb 8 – Feb 15	Mar 15 – Mar 29	Apr 24
Peas	—	Mar 1 – Mar 29	Apr 25
Bush beans	—	Apr 18 – May 9	Jun 7
Carrot	—	Mar 22 – May 3	May 21
Beet	—	Mar 15 – Apr 26	May 4
Potato	—	Mar 22 – Apr 12	May 31
Kale	Feb 1 – Feb 15	Mar 15 – Mar 29	Apr 27
Broccoli	Feb 1 – Feb 15	Mar 15 – Apr 5	May 14
Cucumber	Mar 28 – Apr 4	Apr 25 – May 9	Jun 14
Summer squash and zucchini	Mar 28 – Apr 4	Apr 25 – May 9	Jun 9
Winter squash	Mar 28 – Apr 4	Apr 25 – May 9	Jul 14
Sweet corn	—	Apr 18 – May 9	Jun 17
Onion (from sets)	—	Mar 15 – Apr 5	Jun 13
Garlic	—	Oct 18 – Nov 15 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Mar 1 – Mar 29	Apr 8
Basil	Mar 14 – Mar 28	Apr 25 – May 9	Jun 21

Plan all 65 crops for Carthage

Carthage'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
1893	Apr 23
1894	Apr 12
1895	Apr 4
1896	Mar 27
1897	Apr 10
1898	Apr 8
1899	Apr 5
1901	Mar 23
1902	Apr 9
1903	Apr 5
1904	Mar 28
1906	Apr 3
1908	Apr 4
1909	Apr 2
1910	Apr 25
1911	Apr 2
1912	Apr 3
1913	Mar 28
1914	Apr 10
1915	Apr 4
1917	Apr 10
1918	Apr 11
1919	Apr 27
1920	Apr 14
1921	Apr 12
1922	Mar 23
1923	Apr 18
1924	Apr 3
1925	Apr 1
1926	Apr 20
1927	May 3
1928	Apr 16
1929	Mar 18
1932	Apr 13
1933	Mar 24
1934	Mar 29
1935	Mar 14
1936	Apr 19
1937	Apr 12
1938	Apr 10
1939	Apr 13
1940	Apr 13
1941	Mar 30
1942	Apr 12
1943	Apr 15
1944	Apr 7
1945	Mar 11
1946	Mar 12
1947	Mar 31
1949	Apr 19
1950	Apr 21
1951	Mar 26
1952	Apr 7
1953	Apr 21
1954	Apr 2
1955	Mar 31
1956	Apr 19
1957	Apr 15
1958	Apr 12
1959	Apr 14
1960	Apr 11
1961	Apr 11
1962	Apr 16
1965	Mar 28
1966	Apr 15
1967	Mar 23
1968	Mar 26
1969	Apr 1
1970	Apr 8
1971	May 4
1972	Apr 9
1973	Apr 14
1981	Mar 25
1982	Apr 24
1983	Apr 21
1984	Apr 1
1985	Apr 10
1986	Apr 24
1987	Apr 4
1988	Apr 20
1989	Apr 12
1990	Apr 13
1991	Mar 31
1992	Apr 4
1993	Apr 22
1994	Apr 7
1996	Apr 11
1997	Apr 18
1998	Apr 11
1999	Mar 29
2000	Apr 10
2001	Apr 19
2002	Apr 8
2003	Mar 31
2004	Apr 6
2005	May 5
2006	Apr 9
2007	Apr 10
2008	Apr 16
2009	Apr 8
2010	Mar 27
2011	May 6
2012	Apr 12
2013	Apr 21
2014	Apr 16
2015	Apr 6
2016	Apr 10
2017	Mar 20
2018	Apr 20
2019	Apr 16
2020	May 10
2021	Apr 22
2022	Apr 19
2023	May 4
2024	Apr 6
2025	Apr 9
2026	Mar 18

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1894	185
1896	204
1897	206
1898	198
1899	212
1901	223
1902	204
1903	196
1904	209
1908	203
1910	185
1911	213
1912	203
1913	206
1914	200
1915	224
1917	185
1918	204
1921	183
1922	209
1923	196
1924	202
1925	201
1926	196
1927	140
1929	231
1932	202
1933	228
1934	213
1935	206
1936	198
1937	193
1938	197
1939	198
1940	207
1941	226
1942	197
1943	184
1944	203
1945	237
1946	245
1947	221
1949	198
1950	197
1951	221
1952	182
1953	191
1954	210
1955	207
1956	203
1957	194
1958	199
1959	205
1960	206
1961	209
1962	190
1965	210
1966	195
1967	212
1968	192
1969	199
1970	211
1971	183
1972	193
1981	208
1982	180
1984	225
1985	235
1986	202
1987	186
1988	211
1989	203
1990	198
1991	216
1993	187
1996	191
1997	187
1998	208
1999	208
2000	181
2001	191
2002	207
2003	227
2004	232
2005	173
2006	186
2007	207
2008	195
2009	233
2010	223
2011	188
2012	202
2013	186
2014	199
2015	221
2016	214
2017	219
2018	183
2019	198
2020	175
2021	195
2022	181
2023	156
2024	237
2025	200

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1893	21.1 °C
1894	21.8 °C
1896	23.1 °C
1897	21.2 °C
1898	22.7 °C
1899	22.8 °C
1901	21.9 °C
1902	22.4 °C
1903	21.5 °C
1906	22.4 °C
1908	23.1 °C
1910	21.7 °C
1911	23.3 °C
1912	22.5 °C
1913	22.7 °C
1914	23.1 °C
1915	22.5 °C
1916	22.6 °C
1917	20.9 °C
1918	21.9 °C
1919	22.6 °C
1920	21.1 °C
1922	22.9 °C
1923	22.2 °C
1924	21.9 °C
1925	23.7 °C
1926	22.5 °C
1929	22.6 °C
1931	23.1 °C
1932	23.3 °C
1933	24.1 °C
1934	24.0 °C
1935	23.0 °C
1936	24.6 °C
1937	22.7 °C
1938	22.6 °C
1939	22.4 °C
1940	21.4 °C
1941	23.6 °C
1942	22.4 °C
1943	22.8 °C
1944	22.7 °C
1945	22.1 °C
1946	21.9 °C
1947	22.2 °C
1949	21.4 °C
1950	20.4 °C
1951	22.0 °C
1952	22.7 °C
1953	22.7 °C
1954	23.3 °C
1955	22.8 °C
1956	22.0 °C
1957	22.7 °C
1958	21.9 °C
1959	22.3 °C
1960	21.9 °C
1961	20.6 °C
1962	22.5 °C
1965	21.7 °C
1966	20.4 °C
1967	20.0 °C
1968	21.0 °C
1969	21.2 °C
1970	21.2 °C
1971	20.6 °C
1972	21.0 °C
1973	20.9 °C
1981	21.6 °C
1982	21.1 °C
1984	20.5 °C
1985	21.2 °C
1986	21.7 °C
1987	22.2 °C
1988	22.4 °C
1989	21.3 °C
1990	21.0 °C
1991	22.5 °C
1993	20.9 °C
1994	21.2 °C
1996	20.8 °C
1997	20.0 °C
1998	22.2 °C
1999	21.7 °C
2000	21.1 °C
2001	21.4 °C
2002	22.0 °C
2003	21.0 °C
2004	21.0 °C
2005	21.5 °C
2006	21.4 °C
2007	22.7 °C
2008	21.4 °C
2009	21.4 °C
2010	23.2 °C
2011	22.5 °C
2012	22.3 °C
2013	21.2 °C
2014	21.6 °C
2015	21.9 °C
2016	22.4 °C
2017	21.5 °C
2018	22.2 °C
2019	22.4 °C
2020	21.4 °C
2021	21.0 °C
2022	21.6 °C
2023	21.2 °C
2024	22.5 °C
2025	22.5 °C
2026	23.3 °C

What this means for you: Since 1893, Carthage'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 Carthage (NOAA GHCN-Daily). Years with too many missing days are left out.

Nearby towns

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