When to plant in Cookeville, TN

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

Safe to plant out

Apr 24

1 year in 10 has a later frost

Average last frost

Apr 13

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Oct 23

1 year in 10 by Oct 8

Frost-free days

191

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Cookeville · 6.2 km away · station 332 m, town 334 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 27 – Mar 13	Apr 24 – May 8	Jun 18
Sweet pepper	Feb 13 – Feb 27	Apr 24 – May 8	Jun 23
Lettuce (leaf)	Feb 9 – Feb 16	Mar 16 – Mar 30	Apr 25
Peas	—	Mar 2 – Mar 30	Apr 26
Bush beans	—	Apr 17 – May 8	Jun 6
Carrot	—	Mar 23 – May 4	May 22
Beet	—	Mar 16 – Apr 27	May 5
Potato	—	Mar 23 – Apr 13	Jun 1
Kale	Feb 2 – Feb 16	Mar 16 – Mar 30	Apr 28
Broccoli	Feb 2 – Feb 16	Mar 16 – Apr 6	May 15
Cucumber	Mar 27 – Apr 3	Apr 24 – May 8	Jun 13
Summer squash and zucchini	Mar 27 – Apr 3	Apr 24 – May 8	Jun 8
Winter squash	Mar 27 – Apr 3	Apr 24 – May 8	Jul 13
Sweet corn	—	Apr 17 – May 8	Jun 16
Onion (from sets)	—	Mar 16 – Apr 6	Jun 14
Garlic	—	Oct 9 – Nov 6 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Mar 2 – Mar 30	Apr 9
Basil	Mar 13 – Mar 27	Apr 24 – May 8	Jun 20

Plan all 65 crops for Cookeville

Cookeville'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
1915	Apr 4
1916	Apr 10
1918	Apr 12
1919	Apr 27
1920	Apr 14
1921	Apr 12
1922	Apr 2
1923	May 10
1924	Apr 3
1925	Apr 2
1926	Apr 20
1928	Apr 16
1929	Mar 18
1930	Apr 25
1931	Apr 7
1932	Apr 1
1933	Mar 22
1934	Apr 21
1935	Apr 14
1937	Apr 12
1938	Apr 10
1939	Apr 22
1940	Apr 14
1941	Mar 30
1943	Apr 15
1944	Apr 13
1946	Apr 13
1956	Apr 21
1957	Apr 15
1958	Apr 12
1959	Apr 15
1960	Apr 11
1961	Apr 29
1962	Apr 16
1963	May 2
1964	Apr 10
1965	Mar 28
1966	May 10
1967	Apr 28
1968	Mar 26
1969	Apr 1
1970	Apr 7
1971	May 4
1972	Apr 9
1973	Apr 14
1974	Apr 11
1975	Apr 16
1976	May 9
1977	Mar 24
1978	Apr 22
1979	Apr 7
1980	Apr 17
1981	Mar 26
1982	Apr 24
1983	Apr 21
1984	Apr 7
1985	Apr 11
1986	Apr 24
1987	Apr 11
1988	Apr 29
1989	Apr 14
1990	Apr 18
1991	Apr 1
1992	Apr 29
1993	Apr 23
1994	Apr 9
1995	Apr 17
1996	Apr 24
1997	Apr 19
1998	Apr 12
1999	Mar 30
2000	Apr 10
2001	Apr 20
2002	Apr 8
2003	Apr 1
2004	Apr 15
2005	Apr 26
2007	Apr 17
2008	Apr 17
2009	Apr 9
2010	Mar 31
2011	Apr 7
2012	Apr 13
2013	Apr 21
2014	Apr 17
2015	Apr 6
2016	Apr 10
2017	Mar 20
2018	Apr 21
2019	Apr 4
2020	May 10
2021	Apr 23
2022	Apr 19
2023	Apr 24
2024	Apr 7
2025	Apr 10
2026	Mar 29

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1915	187
1916	194
1918	203
1919	191
1920	170
1921	183
1922	219
1923	162
1924	180
1925	200
1928	202
1929	231
1930	178
1931	194
1932	188
1933	217
1934	189
1935	175
1937	185
1938	197
1939	175
1940	185
1943	184
1944	190
1956	201
1957	187
1958	199
1959	195
1960	192
1961	180
1962	190
1963	180
1964	179
1965	210
1966	163
1967	165
1968	213
1969	199
1970	192
1971	183
1972	193
1973	205
1974	174
1975	211
1976	161
1977	201
1978	168
1979	189
1980	171
1981	207
1982	181
1983	197
1984	177
1985	210
1986	202
1987	175
1988	161
1989	200
1990	183
1991	188
1992	172
1993	182
1994	199
1995	190
1996	177
1997	186
1998	193
1999	207
2000	180
2001	179
2002	207
2003	185
2004	204
2005	180
2007	199
2008	191
2009	191
2010	188
2011	197
2012	200
2013	181
2014	198
2015	194
2016	223
2017	223
2018	183
2019	212
2021	195
2022	172
2023	190
2024	191
2025	213

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1915	21.7 °C
1916	21.4 °C
1918	20.6 °C
1919	21.1 °C
1920	20.5 °C
1921	22.4 °C
1922	21.0 °C
1923	20.4 °C
1925	22.4 °C
1929	21.2 °C
1930	21.9 °C
1931	21.5 °C
1932	21.5 °C
1933	22.2 °C
1935	20.9 °C
1939	21.4 °C
1940	20.4 °C
1941	22.4 °C
1943	22.4 °C
1944	22.1 °C
1946	21.1 °C
1956	20.6 °C
1957	21.5 °C
1958	20.6 °C
1959	21.3 °C
1960	21.0 °C
1961	19.6 °C
1962	21.1 °C
1963	20.7 °C
1964	21.2 °C
1965	21.6 °C
1966	20.5 °C
1967	19.6 °C
1968	21.2 °C
1969	20.7 °C
1970	21.1 °C
1971	20.4 °C
1972	20.9 °C
1973	20.0 °C
1974	19.9 °C
1975	20.5 °C
1976	19.4 °C
1977	21.8 °C
1978	21.0 °C
1979	19.9 °C
1980	21.6 °C
1981	20.8 °C
1982	20.1 °C
1983	20.2 °C
1984	20.2 °C
1985	20.7 °C
1986	21.1 °C
1987	20.8 °C
1988	20.2 °C
1989	19.5 °C
1990	19.9 °C
1991	21.1 °C
1992	19.0 °C
1993	20.1 °C
1994	19.6 °C
1995	20.4 °C
1996	19.8 °C
1997	19.1 °C
1998	21.9 °C
1999	21.4 °C
2000	20.4 °C
2001	20.4 °C
2002	21.4 °C
2003	20.4 °C
2004	20.5 °C
2005	21.1 °C
2007	21.5 °C
2008	20.3 °C
2009	20.3 °C
2010	22.1 °C
2011	21.0 °C
2012	21.1 °C
2013	19.9 °C
2014	20.3 °C
2015	20.9 °C
2016	21.6 °C
2017	20.6 °C
2018	21.6 °C
2019	21.9 °C
2020	20.6 °C
2021	20.5 °C
2022	21.4 °C
2023	20.6 °C
2024	22.1 °C
2025	22.4 °C

What this means for you: Since 1915, Cookeville'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 Cookeville (NOAA GHCN-Daily). Years with too many missing days are left out.

Nearby towns

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