Frost dates by ZIP.
Enter your ZIP code and get your average last spring frost, first fall frost, and growing-season length. Free, no signup — from the makers of Homestead Paradise.
Frost date questions, answered
What is a frost date?
Frost dates are climate averages: the last spring date and first fall date when your area typically drops to 32°F. They're the backbone of planting calendars — most seed-packet instructions count backward or forward from them.
How accurate are average frost dates?
They're 50/50 probabilities, not guarantees — about half of all years see frost after the average spring date. For tender crops like tomatoes and peppers, many gardeners wait a week or two past the average, or keep covers handy.
What can I plant before the last frost?
Hardy crops — peas, spinach, kale, onions, radishes — go in 3 to 4 weeks before the last frost. Half-hardy crops like lettuce, beets, and carrots go in a week or two before. Tender crops (tomatoes, peppers, squash, beans) wait until after the danger passes.
What is a growing season?
Your growing season is the stretch of frost-free days between the last spring frost and first fall frost. It determines which crops can mature in your area — a 90-day tomato needs a comfortably longer frost-free window to produce well.
Where do these frost dates come from?
The lookup estimates 30-year climate normals (the same style NOAA publishes) for the weather station nearest your ZIP code. Microclimates matter — a low-lying hollow or an urban lot can run a week or more different from the area average.
Want a planting calendar built on your frost dates?
Homestead Paradise turns your frost dates into a crop-by-crop planting calendar — sow windows, harvest estimates, and fall succession — and Harold, your Smart Advisor, watches the forecast for frost so you don't have to.
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