Do you keep a record of your last frost dates?
This site has a history option to go back in time. I never did but started to do so this season. I’m going back 15 years for last frost date in April / May.
3 Likes
I do not keep a written record but I do note each year when my last frost occurred. I now have had my last frost within the first half of march 2 times in my life.
I keep a log and note the date of the late and early freezes
2 Likes
It does not have data for my location… if you are from a small town.. may not.
As close as it gets is data from an airport 30 miles north of me.
I remember very late hard frosts in 2020 (4/15/2020) and 2007. It does not have data for 2007.
In 2007.. mid to late April.. we had a hard frost and all trees, oaks, poplar, hickory, etc were leafed out good. All leaves turned black and dropped. It smelled of burnt leaves when you went outside. About a month later they started coming back out.
Ginseng was already up when this happened and almost all ginseng tops got toasted that year. They could not send up another top until the next spring. The price of ginseng went up over 1000.00 per pound that year.. but there was none to be found.
TNHunter
2 Likes
Google said a safe last frost date for Z6b is Mother’s Day to May 15.
From the history at the site the latest last frost here was May 29 - 30 in 2013. But it was an odd year. Generally, frosts were confined to April and early May. But I only went back to 2010.
I never thought the last frost date until I started with potted figs this year. It is a big job to haul the figs from the back yard back into the garage if a unforeseen frost hits. So, I was looking to get some clues on when the figs can be safely put out in their summer home.
1 Like
I started noting mine down a few years ago after getting caught out twice in the same spring. The averages from weather stations never quite matched what was actually happening in my garden, especially since I’m in a bit of a frost pocket. Having even three or four years of your own data makes a real difference when you’re deciding whether to risk putting stuff out early.
I don’t feel safe until after June 20th. I don’t write down the date each year, but about every 2-5 years we’ll get a hard freeze write at the solstice.