When to plant in Captains Cove, VA
Planting dates worked out from Captains Cove's own frost records, not a generic zone chart.
Safe to plant out
Apr 10
1 year in 10 has a later frost
Average last frost
Mar 31
about a 50% chance of a later one
Average first fall frost
Nov 10
1 year in 10 by Oct 31
Frost-free days
220
median, 1991–2020
Station used: Wallops Is Nasa Test Facility · 7.0 km away · station 10 m, town 5 m. How we match towns to stations
This season
Plan your garden.
Planting dates for common crops
| Crop | Start indoors | Plant out or sow | Harvest from |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tomato | Feb 14 – Feb 28 | Apr 11 – Apr 25 | Jun 5 |
| Sweet pepper | Jan 31 – Feb 14 | Apr 11 – Apr 25 | Jun 10 |
| Lettuce (leaf) | Jan 27 – Feb 3 | Mar 3 – Mar 17 | Apr 12 |
| Peas | — | Mar 2 – Mar 30 | Apr 26 |
| Bush beans | — | Apr 5 – Apr 26 | May 25 |
| Carrot | — | Mar 19 – Apr 30 | May 18 |
| Beet | — | Mar 19 – Apr 30 | May 8 |
| Potato | — | Mar 19 – Apr 9 | May 28 |
| Kale | Jan 26 – Feb 9 | Mar 9 – Mar 23 | Apr 21 |
| Broccoli | Jan 20 – Feb 3 | Mar 3 – Mar 24 | May 2 |
| Cucumber | Mar 14 – Mar 21 | Apr 11 – Apr 25 | May 31 |
| Summer squash and zucchini | Mar 14 – Mar 21 | Apr 11 – Apr 25 | May 26 |
| Winter squash | Mar 14 – Mar 21 | Apr 11 – Apr 25 | Jun 30 |
| Sweet corn | — | Apr 5 – Apr 26 | Jun 4 |
| Onion (from sets) | — | Mar 3 – Mar 24 | Jun 1 |
| Garlic | — | Oct 27 – Nov 24 (fall) | following summer |
| Spinach | — | Mar 2 – Mar 30 | Apr 9 |
| Basil | Feb 28 – Mar 14 | Apr 11 – Apr 25 | Jun 7 |
Captains Cove'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 |
|---|---|
| 1967 | Apr 12 |
| 1968 | Apr 7 |
| 1969 | Mar 31 |
| 1970 | Mar 30 |
| 1971 | Mar 28 |
| 1972 | Apr 9 |
| 1973 | Apr 13 |
| 1974 | Mar 26 |
| 1975 | Apr 14 |
| 1976 | Apr 12 |
| 1977 | Apr 10 |
| 1978 | Mar 18 |
| 1979 | Mar 27 |
| 1980 | Mar 19 |
| 1981 | Mar 26 |
| 1982 | Apr 10 |
| 1983 | Mar 30 |
| 1984 | Mar 24 |
| 1985 | Apr 10 |
| 1986 | Mar 25 |
| 1987 | Apr 6 |
| 1988 | Mar 23 |
| 1989 | Apr 12 |
| 1990 | Apr 19 |
| 1991 | Apr 4 |
| 1992 | Apr 4 |
| 1993 | Mar 22 |
| 1994 | Mar 21 |
| 1995 | Apr 6 |
| 1996 | Apr 8 |
| 1997 | Apr 10 |
| 1998 | Mar 24 |
| 1999 | Apr 6 |
| 2000 | Mar 18 |
| 2001 | Apr 5 |
| 2002 | Apr 7 |
| 2003 | Apr 1 |
| 2004 | Mar 24 |
| 2005 | Mar 22 |
| 2006 | Mar 30 |
| 2007 | Apr 10 |
| 2008 | Apr 16 |
| 2009 | Apr 17 |
| 2010 | Mar 8 |
| 2011 | Mar 29 |
| 2012 | Mar 11 |
| 2013 | Apr 4 |
| 2014 | Mar 27 |
| 2015 | Apr 5 |
| 2016 | Apr 10 |
| 2017 | Mar 23 |
| 2018 | Apr 11 |
| 2019 | Mar 28 |
| 2020 | Mar 16 |
| 2021 | Apr 3 |
| 2022 | Mar 30 |
| 2023 | Apr 10 |
| 2024 | Mar 24 |
Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend
See the data as a table
| Year | Frost-free days |
|---|---|
| 1967 | 206 |
| 1968 | 226 |
| 1969 | 206 |
| 1970 | 232 |
| 1971 | 224 |
| 1972 | 220 |
| 1973 | 206 |
| 1974 | 207 |
| 1975 | 199 |
| 1976 | 198 |
| 1977 | 216 |
| 1978 | 258 |
| 1979 | 247 |
| 1980 | 242 |
| 1981 | 240 |
| 1982 | 210 |
| 1983 | 232 |
| 1984 | 235 |
| 1985 | 235 |
| 1986 | 232 |
| 1987 | 213 |
| 1988 | 240 |
| 1989 | 212 |
| 1990 | 213 |
| 1991 | 214 |
| 1992 | 198 |
| 1993 | 225 |
| 1994 | 246 |
| 1995 | 212 |
| 1996 | 208 |
| 1997 | 220 |
| 1998 | 225 |
| 1999 | 224 |
| 2000 | 241 |
| 2001 | 220 |
| 2002 | 225 |
| 2003 | 205 |
| 2004 | 230 |
| 2005 | 234 |
| 2006 | 218 |
| 2007 | 220 |
| 2008 | 197 |
| 2009 | 202 |
| 2010 | 264 |
| 2011 | 215 |
| 2012 | 258 |
| 2013 | 218 |
| 2014 | 225 |
| 2015 | 223 |
| 2016 | 215 |
| 2017 | 231 |
| 2018 | 213 |
| 2019 | 220 |
| 2020 | 246 |
| 2021 | 224 |
| 2022 | 231 |
| 2023 | 205 |
| 2024 | 250 |
Each year's average temperature, April to SeptemberLong-term trend
See the data as a table
| Year | Growing-season temperature |
|---|---|
| 1967 | 17.4 °C |
| 1968 | 20.0 °C |
| 1969 | 20.1 °C |
| 1970 | 20.0 °C |
| 1971 | 20.1 °C |
| 1972 | 19.3 °C |
| 1973 | 20.3 °C |
| 1974 | 19.7 °C |
| 1975 | 20.2 °C |
| 1976 | 19.6 °C |
| 1977 | 20.9 °C |
| 1978 | 19.8 °C |
| 1979 | 20.4 °C |
| 1980 | 20.5 °C |
| 1981 | 20.1 °C |
| 1982 | 19.4 °C |
| 1983 | 19.7 °C |
| 1984 | 19.5 °C |
| 1985 | 20.4 °C |
| 1986 | 20.4 °C |
| 1987 | 20.6 °C |
| 1988 | 20.0 °C |
| 1989 | 20.5 °C |
| 1990 | 20.5 °C |
| 1991 | 21.8 °C |
| 1992 | 19.5 °C |
| 1993 | 20.5 °C |
| 1994 | 20.3 °C |
| 1995 | 20.6 °C |
| 1996 | 19.8 °C |
| 1997 | 19.4 °C |
| 1998 | 20.9 °C |
| 1999 | 20.4 °C |
| 2000 | 19.9 °C |
| 2001 | 20.0 °C |
| 2002 | 21.9 °C |
| 2003 | 20.0 °C |
| 2004 | 21.1 °C |
| 2005 | 20.6 °C |
| 2006 | 20.8 °C |
| 2007 | 20.2 °C |
| 2008 | 20.8 °C |
| 2009 | 20.7 °C |
| 2010 | 22.2 °C |
| 2011 | 22.3 °C |
| 2012 | 21.9 °C |
| 2013 | 21.3 °C |
| 2014 | 21.0 °C |
| 2015 | 21.4 °C |
| 2016 | 21.5 °C |
| 2017 | 21.3 °C |
| 2018 | 22.5 °C |
| 2019 | 22.9 °C |
| 2020 | 20.9 °C |
| 2021 | 21.3 °C |
| 2022 | 21.4 °C |
| 2023 | 21.4 °C |
| 2024 | 21.6 °C |
What this means for you: Since 1967, Captains Cove's last spring frost has come about 1 day earlier per decade, on average. The frost-free season has grown by about 1 days per decade. Year-to-year swings are large, so keep using the safe date rather than the trend.
Source: daily records from Wallops Is Nasa Test Facility (NOAA GHCN-Daily). Years with too many missing days are left out.