When to plant in East Chattanooga, TN

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

Safe to plant out

Apr 8

1 year in 10 has a later frost

Average last frost

Mar 23

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Nov 8

1 year in 10 by Oct 29

Frost-free days

232

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Chattanooga Ap · 5.7 km away · station 204 m, town 208 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 11 – Feb 25	Apr 8 – Apr 22	Jun 2
Sweet pepper	Jan 28 – Feb 11	Apr 8 – Apr 22	Jun 7
Lettuce (leaf)	Jan 19 – Jan 26	Feb 23 – Mar 9	Apr 4
Peas	—	Feb 9 – Mar 9	Apr 5
Bush beans	—	Apr 1 – Apr 22	May 21
Carrot	—	Mar 2 – Apr 13	May 1
Beet	—	Feb 23 – Apr 6	Apr 14
Potato	—	Mar 2 – Mar 23	May 11
Kale	Jan 12 – Jan 26	Feb 23 – Mar 9	Apr 7
Broccoli	Jan 12 – Jan 26	Feb 23 – Mar 16	Apr 24
Cucumber	Mar 11 – Mar 18	Apr 8 – Apr 22	May 28
Summer squash and zucchini	Mar 11 – Mar 18	Apr 8 – Apr 22	May 23
Winter squash	Mar 11 – Mar 18	Apr 8 – Apr 22	Jun 27
Sweet corn	—	Apr 1 – Apr 22	May 31
Onion (from sets)	—	Feb 23 – Mar 16	May 24
Garlic	—	Oct 25 – Nov 22 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Feb 9 – Mar 9	Mar 19
Basil	Feb 25 – Mar 11	Apr 8 – Apr 22	Jun 4

Plan all 65 crops for East Chattanooga

East Chattanooga'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
1939	Apr 8
1940	Apr 13
1941	Mar 30
1942	Apr 2
1943	Apr 15
1944	Apr 6
1945	Apr 7
1946	Mar 12
1947	Mar 31
1948	Mar 29
1949	Apr 17
1950	Apr 21
1951	Mar 27
1952	Apr 7
1953	Apr 21
1954	Apr 2
1955	Mar 31
1956	Apr 21
1957	Mar 29
1958	Apr 8
1959	Apr 15
1960	Apr 11
1961	Apr 7
1962	Apr 14
1963	Mar 23
1964	Mar 30
1965	Mar 22
1966	Apr 11
1967	Mar 23
1968	Apr 6
1969	Mar 31
1970	Apr 8
1971	Apr 8
1972	Apr 9
1973	Apr 14
1974	Apr 25
1975	Apr 16
1976	Apr 2
1977	Mar 24
1978	Mar 18
1979	Mar 26
1980	Mar 19
1981	Mar 25
1982	Apr 11
1983	Apr 21
1984	Mar 31
1985	Apr 10
1986	Mar 23
1987	Apr 6
1988	Mar 17
1989	Apr 12
1990	Apr 8
1991	Mar 11
1992	Apr 3
1993	Mar 15
1994	Apr 1
1995	Mar 11
1996	Apr 11
1997	Mar 17
1998	Mar 14
1999	Mar 27
2000	Apr 9
2001	Mar 28
2002	Mar 23
2003	Mar 31
2004	Mar 23
2005	Mar 9
2006	Mar 27
2007	Apr 8
2008	Mar 25
2009	Apr 8
2010	Mar 7
2011	Feb 26
2012	Mar 6
2013	Mar 28
2014	Mar 26
2015	Mar 29
2016	Mar 5
2017	Mar 16
2018	Apr 17
2019	Mar 20
2020	Mar 8
2021	Apr 3
2022	Mar 14
2023	Mar 21
2024	Mar 19

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1939	203
1940	208
1941	223
1942	206
1943	184
1944	204
1945	210
1946	247
1947	222
1948	202
1949	200
1950	198
1951	220
1952	196
1953	191
1954	210
1955	207
1956	201
1957	211
1958	212
1959	204
1960	206
1961	202
1962	194
1963	224
1964	204
1965	216
1966	204
1967	218
1968	202
1969	200
1970	211
1971	210
1972	193
1973	209
1974	179
1975	197
1976	202
1977	232
1978	262
1979	232
1980	231
1981	208
1982	197
1983	198
1984	220
1985	211
1986	234
1987	198
1988	209
1989	191
1990	216
1991	236
1992	217
1993	230
1994	235
1995	237
1996	205
1997	242
1998	236
1999	220
2000	219
2001	213
2002	223
2003	237
2004	236
2005	234
2006	210
2007	212
2008	217
2009	233
2010	244
2011	257
2012	255
2013	211
2014	220
2015	237
2016	260
2017	226
2018	207
2019	226
2020	255
2021	224
2022	219
2023	225
2024	254

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1938	22.6 °C
1939	23.0 °C
1940	21.4 °C
1941	23.0 °C
1942	22.2 °C
1943	22.6 °C
1944	22.7 °C
1945	22.3 °C
1946	22.1 °C
1947	22.4 °C
1948	22.8 °C
1949	22.3 °C
1950	21.8 °C
1951	22.6 °C
1952	23.1 °C
1953	22.9 °C
1954	23.5 °C
1955	23.2 °C
1956	22.3 °C
1957	22.9 °C
1958	22.2 °C
1959	22.7 °C
1960	22.3 °C
1961	21.8 °C
1962	22.9 °C
1963	22.4 °C
1964	22.6 °C
1965	22.2 °C
1966	21.2 °C
1967	20.7 °C
1968	22.2 °C
1969	21.5 °C
1970	22.6 °C
1971	22.3 °C
1972	20.6 °C
1973	22.1 °C
1974	20.3 °C
1975	21.2 °C
1976	20.9 °C
1977	24.1 °C
1978	23.2 °C
1979	21.9 °C
1980	22.8 °C
1981	22.6 °C
1982	21.8 °C
1983	21.8 °C
1984	21.1 °C
1985	21.8 °C
1986	23.4 °C
1987	23.1 °C
1988	22.6 °C
1989	21.9 °C
1990	22.9 °C
1991	23.8 °C
1992	20.9 °C
1993	23.7 °C
1994	22.3 °C
1995	22.9 °C
1996	22.0 °C
1997	21.2 °C
1998	23.7 °C
1999	23.6 °C
2000	23.1 °C
2001	22.7 °C
2002	23.8 °C
2003	22.2 °C
2004	22.4 °C
2005	22.7 °C
2006	23.4 °C
2007	23.8 °C
2008	23.1 °C
2009	23.0 °C
2010	25.0 °C
2011	24.0 °C
2012	23.7 °C
2013	22.6 °C
2014	23.2 °C
2015	23.7 °C
2016	24.8 °C
2017	23.4 °C
2018	23.9 °C
2019	24.8 °C
2020	23.4 °C
2021	23.1 °C
2022	23.9 °C
2023	23.2 °C
2024	24.7 °C

What this means for you: Since 1939, East Chattanooga's last spring frost has come about 2 days earlier per decade, on average. The frost-free season has grown by about 4 days per decade. Year-to-year swings are large, so keep using the safe date rather than the trend.

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

Nearby towns

East Ridge Chattanooga Red Bank Lakeview, GA Rossville, GA Signal Mountain