When to plant in Vinton, VA

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

Safe to plant out

Apr 16

1 year in 10 has a later frost

Average last frost

Apr 3

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Oct 28

1 year in 10 by Oct 8

Frost-free days

201

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Roanoke-Blacksburg Rgnl Ap · 7.9 km away · station 347 m, town 282 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 19 – Mar 5	Apr 16 – Apr 30	Jun 10
Sweet pepper	Feb 5 – Feb 19	Apr 16 – Apr 30	Jun 15
Lettuce (leaf)	Jan 30 – Feb 6	Mar 6 – Mar 20	Apr 15
Peas	—	Feb 26 – Mar 26	Apr 22
Bush beans	—	Apr 9 – Apr 30	May 29
Carrot	—	Mar 13 – Apr 24	May 12
Beet	—	Mar 12 – Apr 23	May 1
Potato	—	Mar 13 – Apr 3	May 22
Kale	Jan 23 – Feb 6	Mar 6 – Mar 20	Apr 18
Broccoli	Jan 23 – Feb 6	Mar 6 – Mar 27	May 5
Cucumber	Mar 19 – Mar 26	Apr 16 – Apr 30	Jun 5
Summer squash and zucchini	Mar 19 – Mar 26	Apr 16 – Apr 30	May 31
Winter squash	Mar 19 – Mar 26	Apr 16 – Apr 30	Jul 5
Sweet corn	—	Apr 9 – Apr 30	Jun 8
Onion (from sets)	—	Mar 6 – Mar 27	Jun 4
Garlic	—	Oct 14 – Nov 11 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Feb 26 – Mar 26	Apr 5
Basil	Mar 5 – Mar 19	Apr 16 – Apr 30	Jun 12

Plan all 65 crops for Vinton

Vinton'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
1948	Apr 4
1949	Apr 20
1950	Apr 17
1951	Apr 18
1952	Apr 9
1953	Apr 22
1954	Apr 5
1955	Apr 1
1956	Apr 25
1957	Apr 15
1958	Apr 2
1959	Apr 14
1960	Apr 11
1961	Apr 20
1962	Apr 21
1963	Apr 16
1964	Apr 10
1965	Apr 3
1966	May 11
1967	Apr 12
1968	Apr 2
1969	Apr 1
1970	Apr 8
1971	Apr 15
1972	Apr 26
1973	Apr 15
1974	Apr 11
1975	Apr 13
1976	Apr 28
1977	Apr 9
1978	Mar 18
1979	Apr 7
1980	Apr 17
1981	May 3
1982	Apr 24
1983	Apr 22
1984	Apr 2
1985	Apr 10
1986	May 4
1987	Apr 4
1988	Apr 14
1989	Apr 14
1990	Apr 19
1991	Apr 3
1992	Apr 6
1993	Apr 7
1994	Apr 8
1995	Apr 5
1996	Apr 9
1997	Apr 15
1998	Apr 28
1999	Mar 27
2000	Mar 19
2001	Mar 28
2002	Apr 7
2003	Apr 1
2004	Mar 24
2005	Apr 16
2006	Mar 27
2007	Apr 10
2008	Apr 16
2009	Mar 22
2010	Mar 27
2011	Apr 16
2012	Mar 11
2013	Apr 3
2014	Apr 17
2015	Apr 5
2016	Apr 10
2017	Mar 23
2018	Apr 8
2019	Apr 2
2020	Mar 8
2021	Apr 3
2022	Apr 2
2023	Apr 9
2024	Mar 25

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1948	196
1949	199
1950	201
1951	198
1952	194
1953	168
1954	185
1955	213
1956	199
1957	180
1958	187
1959	202
1960	192
1961	190
1962	185
1963	201
1964	179
1965	185
1966	162
1967	192
1968	185
1969	199
1970	192
1971	203
1972	167
1973	205
1974	174
1975	200
1976	165
1977	191
1978	204
1979	190
1980	192
1981	168
1982	176
1983	199
1984	218
1985	212
1986	167
1987	187
1988	175
1989	178
1990	190
1991	187
1992	194
1993	176
1994	201
1995	195
1996	207
1997	190
1998	191
1999	222
2000	231
2001	193
2002	225
2003	184
2004	230
2005	193
2006	201
2007	201
2008	197
2009	210
2010	223
2011	196
2012	238
2013	204
2014	204
2015	196
2016	215
2017	231
2018	196
2019	213
2020	254
2021	213
2022	225
2023	205
2024	246

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1948	20.1 °C
1949	20.0 °C
1950	19.4 °C
1951	20.3 °C
1952	20.9 °C
1953	21.6 °C
1954	21.1 °C
1955	21.3 °C
1956	20.2 °C
1957	21.1 °C
1958	20.5 °C
1959	21.8 °C
1960	21.1 °C
1961	20.0 °C
1962	20.2 °C
1963	20.3 °C
1964	20.7 °C
1965	20.4 °C
1966	19.5 °C
1967	19.0 °C
1968	20.0 °C
1969	20.3 °C
1970	21.0 °C
1971	19.8 °C
1972	19.3 °C
1973	20.3 °C
1974	19.5 °C
1975	20.1 °C
1976	19.4 °C
1977	21.7 °C
1978	20.9 °C
1979	19.5 °C
1980	20.9 °C
1981	20.1 °C
1982	19.5 °C
1983	19.9 °C
1984	19.6 °C
1985	21.1 °C
1986	20.8 °C
1987	21.3 °C
1988	20.2 °C
1989	19.9 °C
1990	20.4 °C
1991	21.4 °C
1992	19.4 °C
1993	20.9 °C
1994	20.6 °C
1995	20.8 °C
1996	20.0 °C
1997	19.2 °C
1998	21.5 °C
1999	20.7 °C
2000	20.1 °C
2001	20.7 °C
2002	21.4 °C
2003	19.9 °C
2004	21.1 °C
2005	21.0 °C
2006	20.9 °C
2007	21.8 °C
2008	20.9 °C
2009	20.7 °C
2010	22.5 °C
2011	21.9 °C
2012	21.5 °C
2013	20.7 °C
2014	20.6 °C
2015	21.5 °C
2016	21.8 °C
2017	21.4 °C
2018	22.0 °C
2019	22.8 °C
2020	21.1 °C
2021	21.8 °C
2022	21.8 °C
2023	21.3 °C
2024	22.5 °C

What this means for you: Since 1948, Vinton'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 Roanoke-Blacksburg Rgnl Ap (NOAA GHCN-Daily). Years with too many missing days are left out.

Nearby towns

Cedar Bluff (near Roanoke)Roanoke Hollins Cloverdale Narrows Laymantown