When to plant in Augusta, WV

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

Safe to plant out

May 15

1 year in 10 has a later frost

Average last frost

Apr 29

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Oct 15

1 year in 10 by Oct 5

Frost-free days

170

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Romney 1 Sw · 12.4 km away · station 220 m, town 396 m. How we match towns to stations

The station sits 176 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 Augusta plan

Planting dates for common crops

Crop	Start indoors	Plant out or sow	Harvest from
Tomato	Mar 20 – Apr 3	May 15 – May 29	Jul 9
Sweet pepper	Mar 6 – Mar 20	May 15 – May 29	Jul 14
Lettuce (leaf)	Feb 25 – Mar 4	Apr 1 – Apr 15	May 11
Peas	—	Mar 21 – Apr 18	May 15
Bush beans	—	May 8 – May 29	Jun 27
Carrot	—	Apr 8 – May 20	Jun 7
Beet	—	Apr 1 – May 13	May 21
Potato	—	Apr 8 – Apr 29	Jun 17
Kale	Feb 18 – Mar 4	Apr 1 – Apr 15	May 14
Broccoli	Feb 18 – Mar 4	Apr 1 – Apr 22	May 31
Cucumber	Apr 17 – Apr 24	May 15 – May 29	Jul 4
Summer squash and zucchini	Apr 17 – Apr 24	May 15 – May 29	Jun 29
Winter squash	Apr 17 – Apr 24	May 15 – May 29	Aug 3
Sweet corn	—	May 8 – May 29	Jul 7
Onion (from sets)	—	Apr 1 – Apr 22	Jun 30
Garlic	—	Oct 1 – Oct 29 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Mar 21 – Apr 18	Apr 28
Basil	Apr 3 – Apr 17	May 15 – May 29	Jul 11

Plan all 65 crops for Augusta

Augusta'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
1897	Apr 21
1898	Apr 28
1899	Apr 11
1900	May 6
1901	Apr 17
1902	Apr 14
1903	May 2
1904	Apr 22
1905	Apr 26
1906	May 11
1907	May 21
1908	May 2
1909	May 12
1910	May 16
1911	May 6
1915	Apr 18
1916	Apr 11
1918	Apr 28
1919	Apr 27
1920	May 16
1921	Apr 12
1922	Apr 29
1923	May 14
1926	May 5
1928	May 14
1929	May 17
1930	Jun 1
1931	May 4
1932	May 3
1933	Apr 28
1934	Apr 29
1936	May 29
1937	Apr 29
1938	May 25
1939	Apr 23
1940	May 12
1941	May 13
1942	Apr 14
1943	May 5
1945	May 2
1947	May 12
1948	Apr 23
1949	Apr 29
1955	May 18
1956	May 25
1957	May 7
1958	Apr 26
1959	May 17
1960	May 4
1961	May 5
1962	Apr 25
1963	May 24
1964	Apr 25
1965	Apr 17
1966	Jun 2
1967	May 25
1968	May 8
1969	May 12
1970	May 7
1971	May 23
1972	Jun 11
1973	May 16
1974	May 8
1975	Apr 23
1976	May 13
1977	May 1
1978	May 3
1979	May 2
1980	May 9
1981	May 8
1982	Apr 30
1983	May 11
1984	May 17
1985	May 4
1987	Apr 29
1988	Apr 27
1989	Apr 25
1990	Apr 20
1991	Apr 13
1992	May 7
1993	Apr 29
1994	Apr 25
1995	Apr 23
1996	May 15
1997	Apr 22
1998	Apr 28
1999	Apr 26
2000	Apr 16
2001	Apr 29
2002	May 22
2003	Apr 28
2004	Jun 21
2005	May 7
2006	Apr 29
2010	May 11
2011	Apr 7
2012	Apr 26
2013	May 14
2014	Apr 25
2015	Apr 13
2016	Apr 18
2019	Apr 5

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1897	166
1898	178
1899	172
1900	163
1901	169
1902	153
1903	149
1905	163
1906	152
1907	140
1908	150
1911	171
1915	174
1916	160
1919	174
1920	140
1921	179
1922	150
1923	143
1928	159
1929	124
1930	121
1931	161
1932	149
1934	166
1936	119
1937	141
1938	135
1939	172
1940	136
1941	150
1942	162
1943	130
1948	175
1949	172
1955	156
1956	118
1957	142
1958	158
1959	123
1960	169
1961	151
1962	148
1963	121
1964	141
1965	171
1966	126
1967	122
1968	149
1969	155
1970	150
1971	165
1973	154
1974	138
1975	190
1976	157
1977	164
1978	158
1979	165
1980	149
1981	148
1982	170
1983	135
1984	169
1987	162
1988	161
1989	166
1990	182
1991	177
1992	151
1993	154
1994	168
1995	176
1996	141
1997	177
1998	177
1999	172
2000	174
2001	160
2002	138
2003	155
2004	106
2005	170
2006	166
2010	164
2011	198
2012	169
2014	184
2015	187
2016	190

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1897	19.3 °C
1898	19.4 °C
1899	19.4 °C
1900	20.5 °C
1901	19.3 °C
1902	19.0 °C
1905	18.4 °C
1906	21.2 °C
1907	17.8 °C
1908	18.9 °C
1909	18.3 °C
1911	19.6 °C
1915	19.9 °C
1916	19.5 °C
1918	19.6 °C
1919	19.8 °C
1920	18.1 °C
1921	20.4 °C
1922	19.3 °C
1923	18.7 °C
1930	20.5 °C
1932	19.4 °C
1934	20.2 °C
1936	20.1 °C
1937	19.0 °C
1938	19.1 °C
1939	19.6 °C
1940	18.1 °C
1941	19.3 °C
1942	19.5 °C
1943	19.0 °C
1945	19.1 °C
1948	19.3 °C
1949	19.3 °C
1955	19.6 °C
1956	18.1 °C
1957	19.4 °C
1958	18.6 °C
1959	20.1 °C
1960	19.2 °C
1961	18.6 °C
1962	18.5 °C
1963	17.9 °C
1964	18.6 °C
1965	19.3 °C
1966	18.2 °C
1967	17.7 °C
1968	18.8 °C
1969	19.1 °C
1970	19.7 °C
1971	18.7 °C
1973	19.0 °C
1974	18.6 °C
1975	18.7 °C
1976	18.1 °C
1977	19.5 °C
1978	18.9 °C
1979	18.7 °C
1980	19.6 °C
1981	18.9 °C
1982	18.6 °C
1983	18.8 °C
1984	18.4 °C
1985	19.3 °C
1986	19.4 °C
1987	19.5 °C
1988	19.0 °C
1989	18.0 °C
1990	18.2 °C
1991	19.9 °C
1992	17.5 °C
1993	19.0 °C
1994	18.5 °C
1995	18.8 °C
1996	18.3 °C
1997	17.4 °C
1998	19.6 °C
1999	19.1 °C
2000	19.1 °C
2001	18.7 °C
2002	19.3 °C
2003	17.4 °C
2004	17.4 °C
2005	19.4 °C
2006	18.6 °C
2010	20.1 °C
2011	19.4 °C
2012	19.1 °C
2014	18.1 °C
2015	19.1 °C
2016	19.4 °C
2019	19.8 °C

What this means for you: Since 1897, Augusta'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 Romney 1 Sw (NOAA GHCN-Daily). Years with too many missing days are left out.

Nearby towns

Romney Fort Ashby Shawnee Land, VA Keyser Bel Air (near Cresaptown), MD Cresaptown, MD