When to plant in Williamsburg, VA

Planting dates worked out from Williamsburg'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 8

1 year in 10 by Oct 31

Frost-free days

220

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Williamsburg 2 N · 3.5 km away · station 21 m, town 25 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 13 – Feb 27	Apr 10 – Apr 24	Jun 4
Sweet pepper	Jan 30 – Feb 13	Apr 10 – Apr 24	Jun 9
Lettuce (leaf)	Jan 27 – Feb 3	Mar 3 – Mar 17	Apr 12
Peas	—	Feb 19 – Mar 19	Apr 15
Bush beans	—	Apr 3 – Apr 24	May 23
Carrot	—	Mar 10 – Apr 21	May 9
Beet	—	Mar 5 – Apr 16	Apr 24
Potato	—	Mar 10 – Mar 31	May 19
Kale	Jan 20 – Feb 3	Mar 3 – Mar 17	Apr 15
Broccoli	Jan 20 – Feb 3	Mar 3 – Mar 24	May 2
Cucumber	Mar 13 – Mar 20	Apr 10 – Apr 24	May 30
Summer squash and zucchini	Mar 13 – Mar 20	Apr 10 – Apr 24	May 25
Winter squash	Mar 13 – Mar 20	Apr 10 – Apr 24	Jun 29
Sweet corn	—	Apr 3 – Apr 24	Jun 2
Onion (from sets)	—	Mar 3 – Mar 24	Jun 1
Garlic	—	Oct 25 – Nov 22 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Feb 19 – Mar 19	Mar 29
Basil	Feb 27 – Mar 13	Apr 10 – Apr 24	Jun 6

Plan all 65 crops for Williamsburg

Williamsburg'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
1952	Apr 10
1953	Apr 22
1954	Apr 4
1955	Apr 9
1956	May 9
1957	Apr 16
1958	Apr 4
1959	Apr 5
1960	Apr 20
1961	Apr 21
1962	Apr 17
1963	Mar 24
1964	Apr 10
1965	Apr 5
1966	May 11
1967	Apr 13
1968	May 7
1969	Apr 1
1970	Apr 8
1971	Apr 11
1972	Apr 10
1973	Apr 15
1974	Apr 11
1975	Apr 14
1976	May 19
1977	Apr 10
1978	Mar 31
1979	Apr 7
1980	Apr 17
1981	Apr 16
1982	Apr 12
1983	Apr 21
1984	Apr 12
1985	Apr 10
1986	Mar 25
1987	Apr 6
1988	Apr 25
1989	Apr 13
1990	Apr 19
1991	Apr 4
1992	Apr 6
1993	Apr 27
1994	Apr 9
1995	Apr 6
1996	Apr 10
1997	Apr 12
1998	Mar 25
1999	Mar 23
2000	Apr 9
2001	Apr 19
2002	Apr 7
2003	Mar 31
2004	Apr 6
2005	Mar 19
2006	Mar 23
2007	Apr 10
2008	Mar 21
2009	Mar 25
2010	Mar 9
2011	Apr 6
2012	Mar 11
2013	Mar 27
2014	Mar 27
2015	Mar 29
2016	Apr 6
2017	Mar 24
2018	Mar 27
2019	Apr 2
2020	Mar 8
2021	Apr 3
2022	Mar 29
2023	Mar 21
2024	Mar 19
2025	Mar 9
2026	Mar 29

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1953	198
1954	210
1955	198
1956	184
1957	194
1958	217
1959	218
1960	200
1961	201
1962	190
1963	220
1964	184
1965	183
1966	172
1967	198
1968	175
1969	205
1970	222
1971	210
1972	192
1973	204
1974	175
1975	199
1976	156
1977	190
1978	199
1979	202
1980	192
1981	186
1982	187
1983	197
1984	209
1985	227
1986	208
1987	185
1988	170
1989	204
1990	193
1991	214
1992	196
1993	188
1994	216
1995	212
1996	206
1997	193
1998	224
1999	225
2000	219
2001	206
2002	208
2003	239
2004	216
2005	243
2006	224
2007	211
2008	223
2009	226
2010	243
2011	219
2012	257
2013	212
2014	225
2015	238
2016	219
2017	231
2018	228
2019	220
2020	254
2021	224
2022	232
2023	226
2024	254
2025	253

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1953	22.3 °C
1954	21.7 °C
1955	22.1 °C
1956	21.0 °C
1957	22.2 °C
1958	21.2 °C
1959	22.4 °C
1960	21.8 °C
1961	21.2 °C
1962	21.1 °C
1963	20.8 °C
1964	21.1 °C
1965	21.5 °C
1966	20.9 °C
1967	20.2 °C
1968	21.3 °C
1969	21.3 °C
1970	21.9 °C
1971	21.3 °C
1972	20.7 °C
1973	21.8 °C
1974	21.3 °C
1975	21.2 °C
1976	21.2 °C
1977	22.4 °C
1978	20.8 °C
1979	20.9 °C
1980	22.4 °C
1981	21.4 °C
1982	20.8 °C
1983	21.0 °C
1984	21.0 °C
1985	21.6 °C
1986	21.8 °C
1987	21.2 °C
1988	21.0 °C
1989	21.2 °C
1990	21.3 °C
1991	22.3 °C
1992	20.3 °C
1993	21.9 °C
1994	21.8 °C
1995	21.6 °C
1996	21.3 °C
1997	20.6 °C
1998	22.5 °C
1999	22.1 °C
2000	21.9 °C
2001	21.6 °C
2002	22.8 °C
2003	21.5 °C
2004	22.4 °C
2005	22.4 °C
2006	21.7 °C
2007	21.2 °C
2008	22.1 °C
2009	21.6 °C
2010	23.3 °C
2011	22.6 °C
2012	22.1 °C
2013	21.8 °C
2014	21.9 °C
2015	22.6 °C
2016	22.5 °C
2017	23.0 °C
2018	23.0 °C
2019	23.3 °C
2020	21.7 °C
2021	22.1 °C
2022	22.3 °C
2023	22.0 °C
2024	22.6 °C
2025	22.4 °C
2026	23.1 °C

What this means for you: Since 1952, Williamsburg's last spring frost has come about 4 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 Williamsburg 2 N (NOAA GHCN-Daily). Years with too many missing days are left out.

Nearby towns

Gloucester Point Gloucester Courthouse Rushmere West Point Smithfield Poquoson