When to plant in Madison, WV

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

Safe to plant out

May 5

1 year in 10 has a later frost

Average last frost

Apr 22

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Oct 23

1 year in 10 by Oct 8

Frost-free days

184

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Madison 3nnw · 4.6 km away · station 210 m, town 214 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	Mar 10 – Mar 24	May 5 – May 19	Jun 29
Sweet pepper	Feb 24 – Mar 10	May 5 – May 19	Jul 4
Lettuce (leaf)	Feb 18 – Feb 25	Mar 25 – Apr 8	May 4
Peas	—	Mar 11 – Apr 8	May 5
Bush beans	—	Apr 28 – May 19	Jun 17
Carrot	—	Apr 1 – May 13	May 31
Beet	—	Mar 25 – May 6	May 14
Potato	—	Apr 1 – Apr 22	Jun 10
Kale	Feb 11 – Feb 25	Mar 25 – Apr 8	May 7
Broccoli	Feb 11 – Feb 25	Mar 25 – Apr 15	May 24
Cucumber	Apr 7 – Apr 14	May 5 – May 19	Jun 24
Summer squash and zucchini	Apr 7 – Apr 14	May 5 – May 19	Jun 19
Winter squash	Apr 7 – Apr 14	May 5 – May 19	Jul 24
Sweet corn	—	Apr 28 – May 19	Jun 27
Onion (from sets)	—	Mar 25 – Apr 15	Jun 23
Garlic	—	Oct 9 – Nov 6 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Mar 11 – Apr 8	Apr 18
Basil	Mar 24 – Apr 7	May 5 – May 19	Jul 1

Plan all 65 crops for Madison

Madison'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
1895	May 15
1906	May 9
1909	May 1
1933	Apr 26
1934	Apr 27
1935	Apr 25
1938	Apr 11
1939	May 4
1940	Apr 28
1941	Apr 29
1942	Apr 21
1943	Apr 16
1945	May 1
1946	Apr 28
1947	May 11
1948	Apr 10
1949	Apr 25
1950	Apr 17
1951	Apr 20
1952	Apr 17
1953	Apr 22
1954	May 5
1955	Apr 10
1956	Apr 26
1957	Apr 16
1958	Apr 14
1959	Apr 24
1960	Apr 19
1961	May 5
1962	Apr 22
1963	May 3
1964	Apr 16
1965	Apr 17
1966	May 12
1967	Apr 29
1968	May 8
1969	Apr 25
1970	Apr 12
1971	May 5
1972	Apr 27
1973	May 6
1974	May 8
1975	Apr 22
1976	Apr 30
1977	May 11
1978	May 3
1979	May 1
1980	May 10
1981	Apr 26
1982	Apr 29
1983	May 11
1984	Apr 20
1985	Apr 11
1986	May 5
1987	Apr 11
1988	May 4
1989	May 8
1990	Apr 20
1991	Apr 27
1992	Apr 29
1993	Apr 29
1994	May 19
1995	Apr 15
1996	Apr 18
1997	Apr 17
1998	Apr 13
1999	Apr 15
2000	Apr 13
2001	Apr 26
2002	May 22
2003	Apr 25
2004	Apr 28
2005	May 4
2006	Apr 11
2007	Apr 11
2008	Apr 17
2009	Apr 13
2010	Apr 28
2011	Apr 6
2012	Apr 24
2013	Apr 6
2014	Apr 17
2015	Apr 24
2016	Apr 14
2017	Apr 9
2018	May 1
2019	Apr 16
2020	May 10
2021	Apr 24
2022	Apr 20
2023	Apr 26
2024	Apr 22
2025	Apr 14

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1909	163
1933	181
1934	168
1935	157
1938	197
1939	163
1940	173
1942	188
1943	171
1945	167
1947	142
1948	191
1949	190
1950	202
1951	191
1952	169
1953	168
1954	155
1955	197
1956	197
1957	187
1958	199
1959	177
1960	188
1961	174
1962	184
1963	179
1964	174
1965	171
1966	167
1967	166
1968	171
1969	175
1970	187
1971	182
1972	175
1973	163
1974	147
1975	191
1976	145
1977	158
1978	174
1979	165
1980	155
1981	170
1982	171
1983	168
1984	196
1985	211
1986	188
1987	180
1988	153
1989	154
1990	181
1991	162
1992	170
1993	154
1994	144
1995	184
1996	198
1997	187
1998	192
1999	192
2000	178
2001	164
2002	163
2003	160
2004	171
2005	178
2006	184
2007	200
2008	185
2009	204
2010	176
2011	206
2012	192
2013	202
2014	198
2015	176
2016	211
2017	203
2018	173
2019	199
2020	175
2021	193
2022	182
2023	188
2024	178

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1894	20.1 °C
1906	21.0 °C
1907	18.5 °C
1909	19.3 °C
1933	21.1 °C
1934	21.0 °C
1935	18.9 °C
1938	20.3 °C
1939	20.9 °C
1940	19.7 °C
1941	20.5 °C
1943	20.3 °C
1947	20.4 °C
1948	20.7 °C
1949	20.7 °C
1950	19.7 °C
1951	20.2 °C
1952	20.6 °C
1953	20.6 °C
1954	20.4 °C
1955	21.1 °C
1956	19.4 °C
1957	20.6 °C
1958	19.8 °C
1959	20.9 °C
1960	20.1 °C
1961	18.9 °C
1962	19.8 °C
1963	19.0 °C
1964	19.9 °C
1965	20.3 °C
1966	19.2 °C
1967	18.5 °C
1968	19.2 °C
1969	19.7 °C
1970	20.6 °C
1971	18.9 °C
1972	18.6 °C
1973	19.3 °C
1974	19.0 °C
1975	19.8 °C
1976	18.2 °C
1977	20.6 °C
1978	20.4 °C
1979	18.9 °C
1980	19.4 °C
1981	19.7 °C
1982	19.8 °C
1983	19.8 °C
1984	19.3 °C
1985	20.2 °C
1986	20.7 °C
1987	20.5 °C
1988	19.0 °C
1989	19.0 °C
1990	19.2 °C
1991	20.8 °C
1992	18.3 °C
1993	19.1 °C
1994	18.1 °C
1995	20.6 °C
1996	19.5 °C
1997	18.4 °C
1998	20.7 °C
1999	20.7 °C
2000	20.1 °C
2001	20.2 °C
2002	20.9 °C
2003	20.1 °C
2004	20.4 °C
2005	20.9 °C
2006	20.2 °C
2007	21.0 °C
2008	20.1 °C
2009	20.1 °C
2010	21.8 °C
2011	21.0 °C
2012	20.9 °C
2013	20.5 °C
2014	20.5 °C
2015	21.3 °C
2016	21.7 °C
2017	21.0 °C
2018	21.7 °C
2019	21.7 °C
2020	20.5 °C
2021	20.2 °C
2022	20.6 °C
2023	20.2 °C
2024	21.5 °C

What this means for you: Since 1895, Madison's last spring frost has come about 1 day earlier per decade, on average. 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 Madison 3nnw (NOAA GHCN-Daily). Years with too many missing days are left out.

Nearby towns

Chapmanville Alum Creek Logan Marmet Chesapeake Belle