When to plant in Chester, WV

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

Safe to plant out

May 6

1 year in 10 has a later frost

Average last frost

Apr 21

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Nov 1

1 year in 10 by Oct 18

Frost-free days

190

median, 1991–2020

Station used: New Cumberland L/d · 11.1 km away · station 206 m, town 215 m. How we match towns to stations

This season

Plan your garden.

Build my Chester plan

Planting dates for common crops

Crop	Start indoors	Plant out or sow	Harvest from
Tomato	Mar 11 – Mar 25	May 6 – May 20	Jun 30
Sweet pepper	Feb 25 – Mar 11	May 6 – May 20	Jul 5
Lettuce (leaf)	Feb 18 – Feb 25	Mar 25 – Apr 8	May 4
Peas	—	Mar 25 – Apr 22	May 19
Bush beans	—	Apr 29 – May 20	Jun 18
Carrot	—	Apr 3 – May 15	Jun 2
Beet	—	Apr 3 – May 15	May 23
Potato	—	Apr 3 – Apr 24	Jun 12
Kale	Feb 18 – Mar 4	Apr 1 – Apr 15	May 14
Broccoli	Feb 11 – Feb 25	Mar 25 – Apr 15	May 24
Cucumber	Apr 8 – Apr 15	May 6 – May 20	Jun 25
Summer squash and zucchini	Apr 8 – Apr 15	May 6 – May 20	Jun 20
Winter squash	Apr 8 – Apr 15	May 6 – May 20	Jul 25
Sweet corn	—	Apr 29 – May 20	Jun 28
Onion (from sets)	—	Mar 25 – Apr 15	Jun 23
Garlic	—	Oct 14 – Nov 11 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Mar 25 – Apr 22	May 2
Basil	Mar 25 – Apr 8	May 6 – May 20	Jul 2

Plan all 65 crops for Chester

Chester'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
1893	Apr 16
1898	Apr 28
1899	Apr 10
1901	Apr 21
1902	May 10
1904	Apr 22
1905	Apr 24
1907	May 22
1908	May 3
1909	May 12
1910	May 15
1911	May 6
1912	Apr 28
1913	May 12
1914	May 16
1916	Apr 26
1917	May 10
1918	May 2
1919	Apr 27
1921	Apr 19
1922	Apr 29
1923	May 10
1924	Apr 23
1925	May 25
1926	May 4
1927	May 1
1928	May 14
1929	May 10
1930	May 26
1931	May 4
1932	May 3
1933	Apr 28
1934	Apr 28
1935	Apr 18
1936	Apr 23
1937	May 11
1938	May 12
1939	May 14
1940	Apr 28
1941	May 12
1942	Apr 22
1943	May 2
1944	Apr 30
1945	May 3
1947	May 11
1948	Apr 30
1949	Apr 25
1950	May 8
1951	Apr 21
1952	Apr 15
1953	Apr 22
1954	May 5
1955	Apr 9
1956	May 25
1957	May 6
1958	Apr 30
1959	Apr 24
1960	May 2
1962	Apr 24
1963	May 24
1964	Apr 16
1965	Apr 29
1966	May 11
1967	Apr 29
1968	May 7
1969	May 1
1970	May 7
1971	May 4
1972	May 11
1973	May 6
1974	May 8
1975	Apr 27
1976	May 12
1977	May 11
1978	May 3
1979	May 2
1980	May 8
1981	May 20
1983	May 11
1984	May 17
1985	May 9
1986	May 4
1987	May 6
2001	Apr 20
2002	May 21
2003	Apr 25
2004	May 5
2005	May 5
2006	Apr 11
2007	Apr 15
2008	Apr 17
2009	Apr 14
2010	Apr 28
2011	Apr 4
2012	Apr 8
2013	Apr 22
2014	Apr 20
2015	Apr 25
2016	Apr 14
2017	Apr 9
2018	May 1
2019	Apr 4
2020	May 10
2021	Apr 4
2022	Apr 30
2023	Apr 20
2024	Apr 8
2025	Apr 18

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1898	181
1899	173
1901	165
1904	152
1905	180
1907	139
1908	149
1909	144
1910	161
1911	171
1912	170
1913	133
1914	134
1916	157
1917	144
1918	151
1919	168
1921	190
1922	166
1923	164
1924	180
1925	138
1926	159
1927	146
1928	165
1929	160
1930	146
1931	167
1932	162
1933	173
1934	167
1935	169
1936	186
1937	150
1938	147
1939	151
1940	170
1941	166
1942	159
1943	147
1944	146
1945	159
1947	174
1949	184
1950	186
1951	190
1952	184
1953	168
1954	154
1955	198
1956	138
1957	159
1958	158
1959	177
1960	171
1962	184
1963	142
1964	173
1965	158
1966	162
1967	173
1968	175
1969	169
1970	192
1971	184
1972	151
1973	181
1974	137
1975	158
1976	157
1977	155
1978	173
1979	177
1980	167
1981	150
1983	168
1984	169
1985	169
1986	158
1987	155
2001	170
2002	164
2003	197
2004	187
2005	190
2006	186
2007	202
2008	195
2009	187
2010	187
2012	211
2013	195
2014	196
2015	176
2016	211
2017	213
2018	190
2019	211
2020	173
2021	213
2022	196
2023	194
2024	202
2025	206

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1898	19.7 °C
1899	20.1 °C
1901	18.6 °C
1902	17.1 °C
1904	16.8 °C
1905	17.8 °C
1907	16.2 °C
1908	18.2 °C
1909	17.6 °C
1910	17.6 °C
1911	19.3 °C
1912	18.5 °C
1913	18.1 °C
1914	18.1 °C
1916	17.4 °C
1917	16.6 °C
1918	17.8 °C
1919	18.0 °C
1921	19.7 °C
1922	19.1 °C
1923	17.9 °C
1924	16.7 °C
1925	18.4 °C
1926	17.7 °C
1928	17.3 °C
1929	17.4 °C
1930	18.9 °C
1931	19.2 °C
1932	18.4 °C
1933	19.6 °C
1934	19.7 °C
1935	17.8 °C
1936	19.2 °C
1937	18.6 °C
1938	19.2 °C
1939	19.3 °C
1940	17.6 °C
1941	20.1 °C
1942	19.6 °C
1943	18.4 °C
1944	19.0 °C
1945	18.7 °C
1947	18.9 °C
1948	19.5 °C
1949	19.4 °C
1950	18.2 °C
1951	19.1 °C
1952	19.6 °C
1953	19.4 °C
1954	19.4 °C
1955	20.7 °C
1956	18.4 °C
1957	19.6 °C
1958	18.7 °C
1959	20.3 °C
1960	19.4 °C
1962	18.6 °C
1963	17.7 °C
1964	19.0 °C
1965	19.0 °C
1966	17.9 °C
1967	17.9 °C
1968	19.1 °C
1969	19.4 °C
1970	19.9 °C
1971	18.4 °C
1972	18.5 °C
1973	19.3 °C
1974	18.2 °C
1975	18.6 °C
1976	18.1 °C
1977	19.6 °C
1978	18.7 °C
1979	18.1 °C
1980	18.9 °C
1983	18.7 °C
1984	18.1 °C
1985	18.7 °C
1986	18.3 °C
1987	18.2 °C
2001	18.4 °C
2002	19.0 °C
2003	18.1 °C
2004	18.4 °C
2005	19.4 °C
2006	18.5 °C
2007	18.7 °C
2008	18.5 °C
2009	18.0 °C
2010	19.7 °C
2011	19.9 °C
2012	19.9 °C
2013	18.4 °C
2014	18.2 °C
2015	19.2 °C
2016	19.3 °C
2017	18.2 °C
2018	19.1 °C
2019	18.8 °C
2020	18.0 °C
2021	18.4 °C
2022	18.2 °C
2023	17.9 °C
2024	19.4 °C
2025	18.8 °C

What this means for you: Since 1893, Chester's last spring frost has come about 1 day earlier per decade, on average. The frost-free season has grown by about 3 days per decade. Year-to-year swings are large, so keep using the safe date rather than the trend.

Source: daily records from New Cumberland L/d (NOAA GHCN-Daily). Years with too many missing days are left out.

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