Frost Dates and Zone

ljp · February 26, 2012

I've noticed that people in zones 5 and 6 are reporting last frost dates similar to my last week of May. Is it fair to say that how cold it gets is only a very general indicator of frost dates. Also, in warmer zones are the last couple of frosts mild, just below freezing, or like mine 12-20F.

janezee · February 26, 2012

When I lived in New England, we didn't call 12-20F a frost! We had a lot of other words for it, often ending in 'ing,' modifying 'cold.'

As I recall, we even had snow in early May often enough that it wasn't earth shattering news, but still very unusual to have temps that low.

jane

PaulF · February 26, 2012

Too many people equate last frost with average last frost. My average last frost is April 28 but record last frost is mid-May sometime ... and records are made to be broken. I plant close to the "last' frost and hope this year is not a record year.

NorthTom · February 26, 2012

Is it fair to say that how cold it gets is only a very general indicator of frost dates.

'Zones' are based on the average 'lowest low' an area experiences in the winter, not the average first/last frost dates, so yes. Even though their winter might be just about as long as ours, it is not as cold on average.

February 27, 2012

May 15th is our last frost date here in lower Michigan. But there has been a couple of years where I had to replace all that would not take a frost. One would be wise to plan ahead for this as you can always sell or give away extra plants.

Tracydr · February 28, 2012

Our average last frost is Feb 15 and most people try to get tomatoes out around then because it's a race to beat the heat. However, last year and it looks like this year, frost is going to happen around March 1. We have frost possibility ( lows of 34 tonight and tomorrow) so I'm really glad I've waited.
You can easily get frost with temperatures in the high 30s, depending on humidity, dew point, wind, etc.

February 26, 2012	#1
ljp Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Edmonton Alberta Posts: 189	Frost Dates and Zone I've noticed that people in zones 5 and 6 are reporting last frost dates similar to my last week of May. Is it fair to say that how cold it gets is only a very general indicator of frost dates. Also, in warmer zones are the last couple of frosts mild, just below freezing, or like mine 12-20F.

February 26, 2012	#3
PaulF Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Brownville, Ne Posts: 3,296	Too many people equate last frost with average last frost. My average last frost is April 28 but record last frost is mid-May sometime ... and records are made to be broken. I plant close to the "last' frost and hope this year is not a record year. __________________ there's two things money can't buy; true love and home grown tomatoes.

February 27, 2012	#5
WillysWoodPile Guest Posts: n/a	May 15th is our last frost date here in lower Michigan. But there has been a couple of years where I had to replace all that would not take a frost. One would be wise to plan ahead for this as you can always sell or give away extra plants. Last edited by WillysWoodPile; February 28, 2012 at 03:15 PM.

February 26, 2012	#2
janezee Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Whidbey Island, WA Zone 7, Sunset 5 Posts: 931	When I lived in New England, we didn't call 12-20F a frost! We had a lot of other words for it, often ending in 'ing,' modifying 'cold.' As I recall, we even had snow in early May often enough that it wasn't earth shattering news, but still very unusual to have temps that low. jane

February 26, 2012	#4
NorthTom Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Alberta Canada 3a Posts: 24	Is it fair to say that how cold it gets is only a very general indicator of frost dates. 'Zones' are based on the average 'lowest low' an area experiences in the winter, not the average first/last frost dates, so yes. Even though their winter might be just about as long as ours, it is not as cold on average.

February 28, 2012	#6
Tracydr Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2011 Location: Laurinburg, North Carolina, zone 7 Posts: 3,207	Our average last frost is Feb 15 and most people try to get tomatoes out around then because it's a race to beat the heat. However, last year and it looks like this year, frost is going to happen around March 1. We have frost possibility ( lows of 34 tonight and tomorrow) so I'm really glad I've waited. You can easily get frost with temperatures in the high 30s, depending on humidity, dew point, wind, etc.