When to plant in Chittenden, VT

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

Safe to plant out

May 28

1 year in 10 has a later frost

Average last frost

May 16

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Sep 30

1 year in 10 by Sep 19

Frost-free days

137

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Rutland · 9.5 km away · station 189 m, town 346 m. How we match towns to stations

The station sits 157 m lower than the town, so frost dates here may be off by a week or more. Check them against local experience.

This season

Plan your garden.

Build my Chittenden plan

Planting dates for common crops

Crop	Start indoors	Plant out or sow	Harvest from
Tomato	Apr 2 – Apr 16	May 28 – Jun 11	Jul 22
Sweet pepper	Mar 19 – Apr 2	May 28 – Jun 11	Jul 27
Lettuce (leaf)	Mar 14 – Mar 21	Apr 18 – May 2	May 28
Peas	—	Apr 12 – May 10	Jun 6
Bush beans	—	May 21 – Jun 11	Jul 10
Carrot	—	Apr 25 – Jun 6	Jun 24
Beet	—	Apr 21 – Jun 2	Jun 10
Potato	—	Apr 25 – May 16	Jul 4
Kale	Mar 8 – Mar 22	Apr 19 – May 3	Jun 1
Broccoli	Mar 7 – Mar 21	Apr 18 – May 9	Jun 17
Cucumber	Apr 30 – May 7	May 28 – Jun 11	Jul 17
Summer squash and zucchini	Apr 30 – May 7	May 28 – Jun 11	Jul 12
Winter squash	Apr 30 – May 7	May 28 – Jun 11	Aug 16
Sweet corn	—	May 21 – Jun 11	Jul 20
Onion (from sets)	—	Apr 18 – May 9	Jul 17
Garlic	—	Sep 16 – Oct 14 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Apr 12 – May 10	May 20
Basil	Apr 16 – Apr 30	May 28 – Jun 11	Jul 24

Plan all 65 crops for Chittenden

Chittenden'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
1917	May 16
1919	May 6
1921	May 11
1922	May 16
1923	May 24
1924	Jun 1
1925	May 26
1926	May 31
1927	May 8
1928	May 15
1929	May 18
1930	Apr 29
1931	May 23
1932	May 24
1933	May 17
1934	May 19
1935	May 24
1936	May 22
1937	May 16
1938	May 4
1939	May 14
1940	May 13
1942	May 11
1943	May 15
1944	May 20
1945	Jun 1
1946	May 13
1947	May 11
1948	May 4
1949	May 21
1950	May 14
1951	May 14
1952	May 17
1953	May 4
1954	May 13
1955	Apr 18
1956	May 29
1957	May 17
1958	May 14
1959	May 18
1960	Apr 29
1961	May 31
1962	May 12
1963	May 24
1964	Apr 27
1965	May 14
1966	May 14
1967	May 30
1968	May 8
1969	May 27
1970	Apr 20
1971	May 24
1972	May 12
1973	May 7
1974	May 7
1975	Apr 30
1976	May 9
1977	May 30
1978	May 4
1979	May 7
1980	May 11
1981	May 19
1982	May 5
1983	May 18
1984	May 18
1985	May 9
1987	May 16
1988	Apr 27
1989	May 5
1990	May 31
1991	May 19
1992	May 25
1993	Apr 28
1994	May 28
1995	May 9
1996	May 26
1997	May 28
1998	Apr 30
1999	May 16
2000	May 16
2001	Jun 1
2002	May 23
2003	May 17
2004	May 8
2005	May 13
2006	May 7
2007	May 22
2008	May 5
2009	Jun 1
2010	May 13
2011	May 6
2012	May 12
2013	May 15
2014	May 19
2015	May 24
2016	May 11
2017	May 5
2018	May 14
2019	May 9
2020	May 15
2021	May 7
2022	May 10
2023	May 26
2024	Apr 28
2025	Apr 29
2026	May 22

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1917	117
1919	134
1921	150
1922	124
1923	113
1924	115
1925	119
1927	153
1928	132
1929	123
1930	157
1931	128
1933	117
1934	135
1935	115
1936	126
1937	139
1938	127
1939	135
1940	103
1942	133
1943	126
1944	126
1945	120
1946	122
1947	131
1948	134
1949	127
1950	126
1951	138
1952	132
1953	142
1954	146
1955	156
1956	103
1957	130
1958	137
1959	121
1960	155
1961	126
1962	131
1964	141
1965	136
1966	135
1967	129
1968	150
1969	130
1970	168
1971	165
1972	142
1973	136
1974	139
1975	137
1976	121
1977	130
1978	144
1979	135
1980	140
1981	133
1982	152
1983	133
1984	130
1987	140
1988	154
1989	142
1990	109
1991	125
1992	121
1993	144
1994	127
1995	124
1996	130
1997	116
1998	146
1999	143
2000	133
2001	120
2002	138
2003	138
2004	148
2005	160
2006	145
2007	143
2008	136
2009	110
2010	149
2011	152
2012	148
2013	146
2014	122
2015	133
2016	136
2017	149
2018	152
2019	132
2020	126
2021	169
2022	142
2023	139
2024	167
2025	144

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1917	14.4 °C
1919	15.3 °C
1921	16.7 °C
1922	15.6 °C
1923	14.6 °C
1924	14.5 °C
1925	14.8 °C
1926	14.0 °C
1928	15.2 °C
1929	15.4 °C
1934	16.2 °C
1935	15.2 °C
1936	15.6 °C
1937	16.3 °C
1938	16.1 °C
1939	15.8 °C
1940	14.7 °C
1942	15.9 °C
1943	15.4 °C
1944	16.3 °C
1945	16.0 °C
1946	15.1 °C
1947	16.4 °C
1948	15.7 °C
1949	16.2 °C
1950	14.9 °C
1951	15.3 °C
1952	16.0 °C
1953	16.0 °C
1954	15.2 °C
1955	16.9 °C
1956	14.5 °C
1957	15.8 °C
1958	15.1 °C
1959	17.1 °C
1960	16.1 °C
1961	16.3 °C
1964	15.9 °C
1965	15.7 °C
1966	15.7 °C
1967	15.6 °C
1968	16.7 °C
1969	16.5 °C
1970	16.9 °C
1971	15.9 °C
1972	15.6 °C
1973	16.9 °C
1974	16.0 °C
1975	16.4 °C
1976	16.1 °C
1977	16.4 °C
1978	16.0 °C
1979	16.5 °C
1980	16.4 °C
1981	16.6 °C
1982	16.2 °C
1983	16.8 °C
1984	16.2 °C
1985	16.2 °C
1987	16.6 °C
1988	16.4 °C
1989	15.6 °C
1990	15.2 °C
1991	16.3 °C
1992	14.8 °C
1993	16.0 °C
1994	15.9 °C
1995	15.4 °C
1996	15.7 °C
1997	14.6 °C
1998	16.4 °C
1999	16.2 °C
2000	15.1 °C
2001	15.7 °C
2002	16.2 °C
2003	16.1 °C
2004	16.1 °C
2005	16.9 °C
2006	16.6 °C
2007	15.0 °C
2008	15.2 °C
2009	15.0 °C
2010	16.6 °C
2011	16.4 °C
2012	15.9 °C
2013	15.2 °C
2014	14.9 °C
2015	15.7 °C
2016	15.4 °C
2017	15.2 °C
2018	15.6 °C
2019	14.9 °C
2020	15.2 °C
2021	15.7 °C
2022	15.6 °C
2023	15.4 °C
2024	16.3 °C
2025	15.4 °C
2026	15.3 °C

What this means for you: Since 1917, Chittenden's last spring frost has stayed at about the same time of year. 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 Rutland (NOAA GHCN-Daily). Years with too many missing days are left out.

Nearby towns

Mendon Rutland West Rutland Brandon Castleton Leicester