When to plant in Richford, VT

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

Safe to plant out

May 26

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 29

1 year in 10 by Sep 19

Frost-free days

135

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Enosburg Falls · 14.5 km away · station 128 m, town 141 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	Mar 31 – Apr 14	May 26 – Jun 9	Jul 20
Sweet pepper	Mar 17 – Mar 31	May 26 – Jun 9	Jul 25
Lettuce (leaf)	Mar 14 – Mar 21	Apr 18 – May 2	May 28
Peas	—	Apr 11 – May 9	Jun 5
Bush beans	—	May 19 – Jun 9	Jul 8
Carrot	—	Apr 25 – Jun 6	Jun 24
Beet	—	Apr 21 – Jun 2	Jun 10
Potato	—	Apr 25 – May 16	Jul 4
Kale	Mar 7 – Mar 21	Apr 18 – May 2	May 31
Broccoli	Mar 7 – Mar 21	Apr 18 – May 9	Jun 17
Cucumber	Apr 28 – May 5	May 26 – Jun 9	Jul 15
Summer squash and zucchini	Apr 28 – May 5	May 26 – Jun 9	Jul 10
Winter squash	Apr 28 – May 5	May 26 – Jun 9	Aug 14
Sweet corn	—	May 19 – Jun 9	Jul 18
Onion (from sets)	—	Apr 18 – May 9	Jul 17
Garlic	—	Sep 15 – Oct 13 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Apr 11 – May 9	May 19
Basil	Apr 14 – Apr 28	May 26 – Jun 9	Jul 22

Plan all 65 crops for Richford

Richford'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
1894	May 15
1895	May 14
1897	May 22
1900	May 10
1901	May 26
1902	Jun 10
1903	May 31
1904	May 12
1905	Jun 7
1906	May 15
1907	May 25
1908	Jun 3
1909	May 12
1910	Jun 5
1911	May 14
1912	Jun 10
1913	Jun 10
1914	May 22
1915	Jun 3
1916	May 14
1917	May 24
1918	Jun 20
1920	May 16
1921	May 24
1922	May 28
1923	May 24
1924	Jun 1
1925	May 26
1926	Jun 5
1927	Jun 3
1928	May 17
1929	Jun 8
1930	Jun 2
1931	May 18
1932	May 24
1933	Jun 2
1934	Jun 8
1935	May 26
1936	Jun 30
1938	May 5
1939	May 18
1940	May 13
1941	May 30
1942	May 12
1947	May 10
1948	Jun 6
1949	May 21
1950	May 22
1951	May 14
1952	May 28
1953	Jun 3
1954	May 27
1955	May 21
1956	Jun 19
1957	May 19
1958	Jun 7
1959	May 25
1960	Jun 8
1961	May 31
1962	May 28
1963	May 25
1964	May 21
1965	Jun 3
1966	Jun 2
1967	Jun 1
1968	May 27
1969	May 27
1970	Jun 14
1972	Jun 11
1973	Jun 3
1974	May 8
1975	May 10
1976	May 10
1977	May 16
1978	May 8
1979	May 8
1980	May 28
1981	May 20
1982	May 22
1983	Jun 9
1984	May 18
1985	May 29
1986	Jun 3
1987	May 19
1988	Jun 8
1989	Apr 29
1990	May 24
1991	May 20
1992	May 26
1993	May 23
1994	May 14
1995	May 9
1996	May 26
1997	May 27
1998	Apr 30
1999	May 14
2000	May 20
2001	May 15
2002	May 25
2003	May 10
2005	May 13
2006	May 8
2007	May 22
2008	May 7
2009	May 26
2010	May 13
2011	May 1
2012	May 12

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1894	98
1897	122
1900	126
1901	115
1902	86
1903	98
1904	131
1905	98
1906	122
1907	129
1908	103
1909	110
1910	105
1911	122
1912	111
1913	91
1914	111
1915	84
1916	134
1917	121
1918	82
1920	125
1921	137
1922	112
1923	113
1924	114
1925	122
1927	127
1928	115
1929	102
1930	98
1931	123
1932	108
1933	101
1934	114
1935	110
1936	87
1938	123
1939	122
1940	135
1941	105
1942	116
1947	137
1948	101
1949	127
1950	118
1951	138
1952	102
1953	111
1954	132
1955	109
1956	82
1957	131
1958	113
1959	111
1960	100
1961	108
1962	115
1963	111
1964	114
1965	88
1967	101
1968	131
1969	114
1972	100
1973	109
1974	137
1976	112
1977	118
1978	122
1979	134
1980	118
1981	133
1982	133
1983	97
1985	106
1986	106
1987	137
1988	99
1989	148
1990	131
1991	124
1992	120
1993	119
1994	139
1995	124
1996	120
1997	119
1998	146
1999	143
2000	131
2001	137
2002	135
2003	149
2005	159
2006	151
2007	143
2008	134
2009	116
2010	149

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1894	15.2 °C
1895	15.4 °C
1897	14.3 °C
1900	15.3 °C
1901	15.7 °C
1902	13.9 °C
1903	13.4 °C
1904	14.2 °C
1905	14.3 °C
1906	15.1 °C
1907	13.4 °C
1908	15.4 °C
1909	14.3 °C
1910	15.1 °C
1911	15.5 °C
1912	14.0 °C
1913	14.4 °C
1914	13.9 °C
1915	14.9 °C
1916	14.6 °C
1917	13.7 °C
1918	15.5 °C
1920	14.5 °C
1921	16.6 °C
1922	15.0 °C
1923	14.0 °C
1924	14.1 °C
1925	14.3 °C
1927	13.1 °C
1928	14.5 °C
1929	14.4 °C
1930	14.8 °C
1931	15.2 °C
1932	14.7 °C
1933	15.5 °C
1934	15.5 °C
1935	14.0 °C
1936	14.3 °C
1938	16.4 °C
1939	14.9 °C
1940	14.7 °C
1941	15.3 °C
1942	15.7 °C
1947	15.3 °C
1948	15.1 °C
1949	16.2 °C
1950	14.6 °C
1951	15.0 °C
1952	15.5 °C
1953	15.6 °C
1954	14.3 °C
1955	16.6 °C
1956	13.7 °C
1957	15.2 °C
1958	14.4 °C
1959	16.1 °C
1960	15.4 °C
1961	15.7 °C
1962	14.6 °C
1963	14.1 °C
1964	14.8 °C
1965	14.2 °C
1967	14.8 °C
1968	15.2 °C
1969	15.0 °C
1972	13.9 °C
1973	15.1 °C
1974	14.5 °C
1976	15.0 °C
1977	14.9 °C
1978	14.6 °C
1979	15.4 °C
1980	14.8 °C
1981	15.2 °C
1982	14.5 °C
1983	15.2 °C
1985	15.0 °C
1986	15.1 °C
1987	15.7 °C
1988	15.7 °C
1989	15.5 °C
1990	15.4 °C
1991	15.8 °C
1992	14.5 °C
1993	15.3 °C
1994	15.5 °C
1995	15.1 °C
1996	15.3 °C
1997	14.3 °C
1998	16.5 °C
1999	16.6 °C
2000	15.2 °C
2002	15.8 °C
2006	16.3 °C
2007	15.4 °C
2008	16.0 °C
2009	15.5 °C
2010	17.2 °C
2011	16.8 °C

What this means for you: Since 1894, Richford'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 Enosburg Falls (NOAA GHCN-Daily). Years with too many missing days are left out.

Nearby towns

Montgomery Enosburg Falls Swanton Newport Saint Albans Johnson