When to plant in South Suffolk, VA

Planting dates worked out from South Suffolk'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 24

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Nov 16

1 year in 10 by Nov 4

Frost-free days

232

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Suffolk Lake Kilby · 1.7 km away · station 7 m, town 16 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 11 – Feb 25	Apr 8 – Apr 22	Jun 2
Sweet pepper	Jan 28 – Feb 11	Apr 8 – Apr 22	Jun 7
Lettuce (leaf)	Jan 20 – Jan 27	Feb 24 – Mar 10	Apr 5
Peas	—	Feb 12 – Mar 12	Apr 8
Bush beans	—	Apr 1 – Apr 22	May 21
Carrot	—	Mar 3 – Apr 14	May 2
Beet	—	Mar 1 – Apr 12	Apr 20
Potato	—	Mar 3 – Mar 24	May 12
Kale	Jan 13 – Jan 27	Feb 24 – Mar 10	Apr 8
Broccoli	Jan 13 – Jan 27	Feb 24 – Mar 17	Apr 25
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 24 – Mar 17	May 25
Garlic	—	Nov 2 – Nov 30 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Feb 12 – Mar 12	Mar 22
Basil	Feb 25 – Mar 11	Apr 8 – Apr 22	Jun 4

Plan all 65 crops for South Suffolk

South Suffolk'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
1946	Apr 22
1947	May 11
1949	Apr 17
1950	Apr 22
1951	Apr 18
1952	Apr 8
1953	Apr 22
1954	Apr 2
1955	Apr 9
1956	May 9
1957	Apr 16
1958	Apr 4
1959	Mar 29
1960	Apr 11
1961	Apr 21
1962	Apr 16
1963	Mar 23
1964	Apr 2
1965	Apr 4
1966	Mar 29
1967	Mar 25
1968	Mar 25
1969	Apr 1
1970	Mar 17
1971	Mar 28
1972	Apr 10
1973	Apr 14
1974	Mar 26
1975	Apr 6
1976	Mar 18
1977	Apr 10
1978	Mar 18
1979	Apr 7
1980	Mar 27
1981	Mar 26
1982	Apr 10
1983	Apr 19
1984	Apr 11
1985	Apr 10
1986	Mar 23
1987	Apr 1
1988	Mar 23
1989	Apr 12
1991	Mar 17
1992	Apr 5
1993	Mar 20
1994	Apr 9
1995	Mar 11
1996	Apr 8
1997	Apr 10
1998	Mar 13
1999	Mar 16
2000	Feb 22
2001	Mar 28
2002	Apr 7
2003	Mar 15
2004	Apr 6
2005	Mar 18
2006	Mar 23
2007	Apr 8
2008	Mar 9
2009	Mar 26
2010	Mar 9
2011	Mar 29
2012	Mar 11
2013	Mar 30
2014	Mar 27
2015	Mar 30
2016	Apr 10
2017	Mar 24
2018	Mar 23
2019	Mar 30
2020	Mar 8
2021	Apr 2
2022	Mar 29
2023	Mar 21
2024	Mar 19
2025	Apr 11
2026	Mar 29

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1946	162
1947	143
1949	202
1950	197
1951	176
1952	195
1953	197
1954	211
1955	209
1956	184
1957	194
1958	217
1959	233
1960	209
1961	201
1962	192
1963	225
1964	233
1965	207
1966	215
1967	225
1968	219
1969	205
1970	249
1971	224
1972	219
1973	206
1974	207
1975	222
1976	223
1977	190
1978	251
1979	202
1980	200
1981	207
1982	209
1983	199
1984	215
1985	236
1986	235
1987	223
1988	204
1989	180
1991	232
1992	217
1993	232
1994	228
1996	209
1997	220
1998	276
1999	232
2000	265
2001	237
2002	234
2003	262
2004	222
2005	244
2006	225
2007	222
2008	252
2009	254
2010	263
2011	218
2012	258
2013	218
2014	220
2015	237
2016	216
2017	231
2018	232
2019	226
2020	255
2021	234
2022	233
2023	251
2024	255
2025	230

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1946	20.8 °C
1947	21.9 °C
1949	21.3 °C
1950	20.4 °C
1951	21.3 °C
1952	22.2 °C
1953	22.0 °C
1954	21.7 °C
1955	22.0 °C
1956	20.9 °C
1957	22.1 °C
1958	21.1 °C
1959	22.3 °C
1960	22.3 °C
1961	21.4 °C
1962	21.4 °C
1963	20.9 °C
1964	21.3 °C
1965	21.5 °C
1966	21.0 °C
1967	20.5 °C
1968	21.6 °C
1969	21.6 °C
1970	22.0 °C
1971	21.3 °C
1972	20.7 °C
1973	22.2 °C
1974	21.6 °C
1975	21.9 °C
1976	21.5 °C
1977	22.7 °C
1978	21.5 °C
1979	21.2 °C
1980	21.6 °C
1981	21.7 °C
1982	20.4 °C
1983	21.2 °C
1984	21.2 °C
1985	21.7 °C
1986	21.9 °C
1987	22.1 °C
1988	21.4 °C
1989	21.3 °C
1990	21.4 °C
1991	22.8 °C
1992	21.1 °C
1993	22.4 °C
1994	20.7 °C
1996	21.7 °C
1997	20.8 °C
1998	22.7 °C
1999	22.0 °C
2000	21.8 °C
2001	21.8 °C
2002	22.9 °C
2003	21.9 °C
2004	23.8 °C
2005	22.1 °C
2006	21.8 °C
2007	22.1 °C
2008	22.2 °C
2009	21.8 °C
2010	23.1 °C
2011	22.8 °C
2012	21.9 °C
2013	21.4 °C
2014	21.6 °C
2015	22.4 °C
2016	22.0 °C
2017	22.1 °C
2018	22.4 °C
2019	22.9 °C
2020	21.4 °C
2021	21.5 °C
2022	22.1 °C
2023	21.9 °C
2024	22.3 °C
2025	22.4 °C
2026	23.1 °C

What this means for you: Since 1946, South Suffolk's last spring frost has come about 3 days earlier per decade, on average. The frost-free season has grown by about 7 days per decade. Year-to-year swings are large, so keep using the safe date rather than the trend.

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

Nearby towns

Suffolk Windsor Portsmouth Heights Carrollton Portsmouth Smithfield