When to plant in Shawnee Land, VA

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

Safe to plant out

May 18

1 year in 10 has a later frost

Average last frost

May 3

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Oct 12

1 year in 10 by Oct 1

Frost-free days

160

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Wardensville R M Farm · 22.4 km away · station 293 m, town 336 m. How we match towns to stations

This season

Plan your garden.

Build my Shawnee Land plan

Planting dates for common crops

Crop	Start indoors	Plant out or sow	Harvest from
Tomato	Mar 23 – Apr 6	May 18 – Jun 1	Jul 12
Sweet pepper	Mar 9 – Mar 23	May 18 – Jun 1	Jul 17
Lettuce (leaf)	Mar 1 – Mar 8	Apr 5 – Apr 19	May 15
Peas	—	Mar 23 – Apr 20	May 17
Bush beans	—	May 11 – Jun 1	Jun 30
Carrot	—	Apr 12 – May 24	Jun 11
Beet	—	Apr 5 – May 17	May 25
Potato	—	Apr 12 – May 3	Jun 21
Kale	Feb 22 – Mar 8	Apr 5 – Apr 19	May 18
Broccoli	Feb 22 – Mar 8	Apr 5 – Apr 26	Jun 4
Cucumber	Apr 20 – Apr 27	May 18 – Jun 1	Jul 7
Summer squash and zucchini	Apr 20 – Apr 27	May 18 – Jun 1	Jul 2
Winter squash	Apr 20 – Apr 27	May 18 – Jun 1	Aug 6
Sweet corn	—	May 11 – Jun 1	Jul 10
Onion (from sets)	—	Apr 5 – Apr 26	Jul 4
Garlic	—	Sep 28 – Oct 26 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Mar 23 – Apr 20	Apr 30
Basil	Apr 6 – Apr 20	May 18 – Jun 1	Jul 14

Plan all 65 crops for Shawnee Land

Shawnee Land'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 28
1925	May 27
1928	May 25
1931	May 5
1932	May 3
1934	Apr 29
1935	May 12
1936	May 29
1937	Apr 17
1938	May 13
1939	May 4
1940	May 12
1941	May 28
1942	Apr 23
1946	Apr 22
1947	May 31
1948	Apr 23
1949	May 12
1950	May 21
1951	May 13
1952	Apr 17
1953	Apr 22
1954	May 11
1955	May 18
1956	May 25
1957	May 7
1958	Apr 26
1959	May 17
1960	May 4
1961	May 5
1962	Apr 25
1963	May 24
1964	Apr 25
1965	Apr 17
1966	Jun 1
1967	May 25
1968	May 8
1969	May 12
1970	May 7
1971	May 1
1972	May 11
1973	May 18
1974	May 8
1975	Apr 27
1976	May 13
1977	May 12
1978	May 3
1979	May 2
1980	May 10
1981	May 9
1982	May 5
1983	May 11
1984	May 17
1985	May 4
1986	May 4
1987	Apr 29
1988	May 1
1989	May 4
1990	Apr 19
1991	Apr 23
1992	May 7
1993	Apr 28
1994	Apr 24
1995	Apr 16
1996	May 14
1997	May 8
1998	Apr 27
1999	May 3
2000	Apr 15
2001	May 14
2002	May 23
2003	Apr 25
2004	Apr 17
2005	May 5
2006	May 7
2007	May 7
2008	May 14
2009	May 20
2010	May 12
2011	Apr 22
2012	Apr 28
2014	May 20
2015	Apr 27

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1918	146
1925	135
1931	157
1932	149
1934	166
1935	140
1938	142
1939	161
1940	137
1941	136
1942	154
1946	145
1947	114
1948	174
1949	135
1950	137
1951	138
1952	169
1953	153
1954	148
1955	144
1956	107
1957	142
1958	158
1959	123
1960	169
1961	152
1962	148
1963	121
1964	163
1965	171
1966	127
1967	122
1968	149
1969	155
1970	150
1971	187
1972	142
1973	152
1974	138
1975	158
1976	151
1977	153
1978	148
1980	148
1981	147
1982	165
1983	134
1984	138
1985	132
1986	135
1990	183
1991	156
1992	145
1993	155
1994	164
1995	183
1996	142
1997	160
1998	157
1999	164
2000	175
2001	145
2002	144
2003	160
2004	177
2006	158
2007	174
2009	151
2010	163
2011	183
2012	166
2014	137
2015	173

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1918	18.1 °C
1925	18.6 °C
1929	18.9 °C
1931	19.2 °C
1932	18.5 °C
1934	19.1 °C
1935	17.5 °C
1938	18.3 °C
1939	18.4 °C
1940	17.0 °C
1941	18.7 °C
1942	18.5 °C
1946	17.7 °C
1947	18.1 °C
1948	18.2 °C
1949	18.1 °C
1950	17.1 °C
1951	17.9 °C
1952	18.4 °C
1953	18.8 °C
1954	18.3 °C
1955	18.8 °C
1956	17.5 °C
1957	18.5 °C
1958	17.7 °C
1959	19.2 °C
1960	18.2 °C
1961	17.5 °C
1962	17.6 °C
1963	17.3 °C
1964	17.9 °C
1965	18.6 °C
1966	17.5 °C
1967	17.2 °C
1968	18.3 °C
1969	18.8 °C
1970	18.9 °C
1971	17.7 °C
1972	17.4 °C
1973	18.1 °C
1974	17.6 °C
1975	17.9 °C
1976	17.3 °C
1977	19.1 °C
1978	17.9 °C
1979	17.7 °C
1980	18.6 °C
1981	17.8 °C
1982	17.9 °C
1983	17.8 °C
1984	17.5 °C
1985	18.2 °C
1986	18.7 °C
1987	18.9 °C
1988	18.5 °C
1989	18.0 °C
1990	18.1 °C
1991	19.7 °C
1992	17.3 °C
1993	18.9 °C
1995	18.3 °C
1996	17.7 °C
1997	16.9 °C
1998	19.1 °C
1999	18.3 °C
2000	17.8 °C
2001	17.8 °C
2002	18.7 °C
2003	18.2 °C
2004	18.9 °C
2006	18.3 °C
2007	18.3 °C
2008	17.6 °C
2009	17.4 °C
2010	19.3 °C
2011	18.7 °C
2012	18.3 °C
2014	17.1 °C
2015	17.9 °C

What this means for you: Since 1918, Shawnee Land'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 Wardensville R M Farm (NOAA GHCN-Daily). Years with too many missing days are left out.

Nearby towns

Winchester Stephens City Middletown Strasburg Augusta, WV Berryville