When to plant in Bedford, VA

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

Safe to plant out

Apr 22

1 year in 10 has a later frost

Average last frost

Apr 10

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Oct 24

1 year in 10 by Oct 8

Frost-free days

198

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Buchanan · 25.4 km away · station 268 m, town 306 m. How we match towns to stations

This season

Plan your garden.

Build my Bedford plan

Planting dates for common crops

Crop	Start indoors	Plant out or sow	Harvest from
Tomato	Feb 25 – Mar 11	Apr 22 – May 6	Jun 16
Sweet pepper	Feb 11 – Feb 25	Apr 22 – May 6	Jun 21
Lettuce (leaf)	Feb 6 – Feb 13	Mar 13 – Mar 27	Apr 22
Peas	—	Feb 27 – Mar 27	Apr 23
Bush beans	—	Apr 15 – May 6	Jun 4
Carrot	—	Mar 20 – May 1	May 19
Beet	—	Mar 13 – Apr 24	May 2
Potato	—	Mar 20 – Apr 10	May 29
Kale	Jan 30 – Feb 13	Mar 13 – Mar 27	Apr 25
Broccoli	Jan 30 – Feb 13	Mar 13 – Apr 3	May 12
Cucumber	Mar 25 – Apr 1	Apr 22 – May 6	Jun 11
Summer squash and zucchini	Mar 25 – Apr 1	Apr 22 – May 6	Jun 6
Winter squash	Mar 25 – Apr 1	Apr 22 – May 6	Jul 11
Sweet corn	—	Apr 15 – May 6	Jun 14
Onion (from sets)	—	Mar 13 – Apr 3	Jun 11
Garlic	—	Oct 10 – Nov 7 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Feb 27 – Mar 27	Apr 6
Basil	Mar 11 – Mar 25	Apr 22 – May 6	Jun 18

Plan all 65 crops for Bedford

Bedford'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
1918	Apr 15
1919	Apr 19
1920	May 15
1921	Apr 20
1922	Apr 24
1923	May 11
1924	Apr 19
1925	Apr 8
1926	Apr 27
1927	Apr 25
1928	Apr 26
1929	Apr 23
1930	Apr 27
1931	Apr 13
1932	Apr 28
1933	Apr 27
1934	Apr 28
1935	Apr 16
1936	Apr 20
1937	May 1
1938	Apr 24
1939	May 4
1940	Apr 29
1941	May 13
1942	Apr 23
1943	May 2
1944	Apr 30
1945	May 2
1946	Apr 28
1947	May 11
1948	Apr 19
1949	Apr 25
1950	Apr 22
1951	Apr 24
1952	Apr 9
1953	Apr 22
1954	May 11
1955	Apr 9
1956	Apr 25
1957	Apr 16
1958	Apr 14
1959	Apr 15
1960	May 2
1961	May 3
1962	Apr 22
1963	May 3
1964	Apr 16
1965	Apr 17
1966	May 11
1967	Apr 29
1968	May 7
1969	May 13
1970	May 7
1971	May 4
1972	Apr 27
1973	May 18
1974	Apr 11
1975	Apr 14
1976	Apr 29
1977	May 11
1978	May 2
1979	Apr 29
1980	May 9
1981	May 8
1982	Apr 24
1983	May 11
1984	Apr 19
1990	Apr 19
1991	Apr 23
1992	Apr 7
1993	Apr 8
1994	Apr 8
1996	Apr 18
1997	Apr 20
1998	Apr 13
1999	Mar 31
2000	Apr 1
2001	Apr 20
2002	Apr 7
2003	Apr 1
2004	Mar 24
2012	Mar 12
2013	May 13

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1918	190
1919	204
1920	166
1921	171
1922	177
1923	168
1924	185
1925	185
1926	182
1927	193
1928	182
1929	175
1930	157
1931	187
1932	161
1933	166
1934	168
1935	171
1936	190
1937	166
1938	180
1939	163
1940	174
1941	151
1942	158
1943	155
1944	168
1945	164
1946	156
1947	142
1948	182
1949	190
1950	197
1951	170
1952	194
1953	168
1954	149
1955	190
1956	198
1957	186
1958	175
1959	186
1960	171
1961	176
1962	185
1963	143
1964	173
1965	170
1966	148
1967	173
1968	150
1969	157
1970	150
1971	184
1972	175
1973	152
1974	174
1975	199
1976	164
1977	159
1978	159
1979	163
1980	157
1981	164
1982	175
1983	172
1984	201
1990	190
1991	167
1992	195
1993	197
1994	201
1996	198
1997	185
1998	205
1999	207
2000	190
2001	170
2002	207
2003	184
2004	235
2012	237

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1918	20.0 °C
1919	20.7 °C
1920	20.0 °C
1921	21.5 °C
1922	20.8 °C
1923	20.6 °C
1924	18.2 °C
1925	21.4 °C
1926	21.0 °C
1927	20.0 °C
1928	19.8 °C
1929	20.1 °C
1930	21.2 °C
1931	20.8 °C
1932	20.6 °C
1933	20.4 °C
1934	21.6 °C
1935	20.2 °C
1936	21.2 °C
1937	20.0 °C
1938	20.3 °C
1939	20.8 °C
1940	19.5 °C
1941	20.8 °C
1942	21.1 °C
1943	20.7 °C
1944	20.9 °C
1945	20.7 °C
1946	19.8 °C
1947	20.4 °C
1948	20.4 °C
1949	20.2 °C
1950	19.7 °C
1951	20.6 °C
1952	21.0 °C
1953	21.1 °C
1954	20.8 °C
1955	21.0 °C
1956	20.0 °C
1957	21.1 °C
1958	20.2 °C
1959	21.4 °C
1960	20.8 °C
1961	19.6 °C
1962	19.9 °C
1963	20.2 °C
1964	20.3 °C
1965	21.0 °C
1966	20.0 °C
1967	19.3 °C
1968	20.2 °C
1969	20.8 °C
1970	21.2 °C
1971	19.9 °C
1972	19.5 °C
1973	20.1 °C
1974	19.7 °C
1975	20.2 °C
1976	19.3 °C
1977	20.9 °C
1978	20.6 °C
1979	19.6 °C
1980	20.7 °C
1981	20.1 °C
1982	19.9 °C
1983	19.9 °C
1984	19.6 °C
1990	21.0 °C
1991	22.1 °C
1992	20.1 °C
1993	21.5 °C
1994	20.9 °C
1996	20.7 °C
1997	20.0 °C
1998	22.2 °C
1999	21.4 °C
2000	21.0 °C
2001	21.0 °C
2002	21.7 °C
2003	20.5 °C
2004	21.0 °C
2011	22.1 °C
2012	21.0 °C

What this means for you: Since 1918, Bedford's last spring frost has come about 1 day earlier per decade, on average. The frost-free season has grown by about 2 days per decade. Year-to-year swings are large, so keep using the safe date rather than the trend.

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

Nearby towns

Forest Timberlake Buchanan Blue Ridge Laymantown North Shore