Frost dates Florida Tallahassee

Frost dates in Tallahassee, Florida

Last spring frost Mar 11 First fall frost Nov 21 NOAA 1991-2020

The average last spring frost in Tallahassee is Mar 11 and the average first fall frost is Nov 21, measured at TALLAHASSEE, about 4 miles from the city centre. Below: how sure those dates are, and what to start, sow and set out each week.

Average last spring frostMar 1132°F, 50% probability
Average first fall frostNov 2132°F, 50% probability
Days between them255average frost-free season
How sure is that date? NOAA probability levels for a 32°F freeze
ProbabilityFreeze still comes after (spring)First freeze has come by (fall)
90%Feb 18Dec 14
50%Mar 11Nov 21
10%Mar 30Nov 3

Read it like this: in half of years the last 32°F freeze of spring comes after Mar 11, and in 1 year in 10 there is still a freeze after Mar 30. In 1 year in 10 the first fall freeze arrives before Nov 3.

Measured at: TALLAHASSEE, FL (NOAA station USW00093805), about 4 miles away at 63 ft, 30 years of record in 1991-2020.

Other stations nearby, for comparison:

  • TALLAHASSEE AP, FL (NOAA station USC00088756), about 5 miles away at 55 ft, 14 years of record in 1991-2020: last spring frost Mar 14, first fall frost Nov 23
  • MONTICELLO 5 SE, FL (NOAA station USC00085879), about 30 miles away at 98 ft, 16 years of record in 1991-2020: last spring frost Mar 7, first fall frost Nov 23

Seed-starting schedule for Tallahassee, FL

Counted from a last frost date of Mar 11 (the average: a freeze comes later than this in half of years).

  1. Week of Dec 314 weeks before last frost
    • Start seeds indoorsLeekDec 3 to Dec 17
    • Start seeds indoorsOnionDec 3 to Dec 17
  2. Week of Dec 1013 weeks before last frost
    • Start seeds indoorsParsleyDec 10 to Dec 17
  3. Week of Dec 1712 weeks before last frost
    • Start seeds indoorsCeleryDec 17 to Dec 31
    • Start seeds indoorsSpinachDec 17 to Dec 31
  4. Week of Dec 3110 weeks before last frost
    • Start seeds indoorsBroccoliDec 31 to Jan 14
    • Start seeds indoorsBrussels sproutDec 31 to Jan 14
    • Start seeds indoorsCabbageDec 31 to Jan 14
    • Start seeds indoorsKaleDec 31 to Jan 14
    • Start seeds indoorsKohlrabiDec 31 to Jan 14
  5. Week of Jan 79 weeks before last frost
    • Start seeds indoorsLettuceJan 7 to Jan 14
  6. Week of Jan 148 weeks before last frost
    • Start seeds indoorsCauliflowerJan 14 to Jan 28
    • Start seeds indoorsEggplantJan 14 to Jan 28
    • Start seeds indoorsPepperJan 14 to Jan 28
    • Start seeds indoorsSwiss chardJan 14 to Jan 28
  7. Week of Jan 217 weeks before last frost
    • Start seeds indoorsTomatoJan 21 to Feb 4
  8. Week of Jan 286 weeks before last frost
    • Start seeds indoorsBasilJan 28 to Feb 11
    • Set transplants outSpinachJan 28 to Feb 18
  9. Week of Feb 114 weeks before last frost
    • Sow seed outdoorsRadishFeb 11 to Feb 25
    • Sow seed outdoorsSwiss chardfrom Feb 11
    • Sow seed outdoorsTurnipFeb 11 to Feb 25
    • Set transplants outBroccoliFeb 11 to Feb 25
    • Set transplants outBrussels sproutFeb 11 to Feb 25
    • Set transplants outCabbagefrom Feb 11
    • Set transplants outKalefrom Feb 11
    • Set transplants outKohlrabifrom Feb 11
    • Set transplants outLeekfrom Feb 11
    • Set transplants outLettuceFeb 11 to Feb 18
    • Set transplants outOnionfrom Feb 11
  10. Week of Feb 183 weeks before last frost
    • Start seeds indoorsCucumberFeb 18 to Feb 25
    • Set transplants outParsleyFeb 18 to Feb 25
  11. Week of Feb 252 weeks before last frost
    • Start seeds indoorsMelonFeb 25 to Mar 4
    • Start seeds indoorsPumpkinFeb 25 to Mar 4
    • Start seeds indoorsSummer squashFeb 25 to Mar 4
    • Start seeds indoorsWinter squashFeb 25 to Mar 4
    • Start seeds indoorsZucchiniFeb 25 to Mar 4
    • Plant seed potatoes outdoorsPotatoFeb 25 to Mar 4
    • Set transplants outCauliflowerfrom Feb 25
    • Set transplants outSwiss chardfrom Feb 25
  12. Week of Mar 11Last frost week
    • Sow seed outdoorsBeanfrom Mar 11
    • Sow seed outdoorsParsnipfrom Mar 11
    • Set transplants outCeleryfrom Mar 11
  13. Week of Mar 181 week after last frost
    • Plant slips outdoorsSweet potatoMar 18 to Mar 25
    • Set transplants outCucumberMar 18 to Mar 25
    • Set transplants outTomatoMar 18 to Mar 25
  14. Week of Mar 252 weeks after last frost
    • Set transplants outBasilfrom Mar 25
    • Set transplants outEggplantMar 25 to Apr 1
    • Set transplants outMelonfrom Mar 25
    • Set transplants outPepperfrom Mar 25
    • Set transplants outPumpkinfrom Mar 25
    • Set transplants outSummer squashfrom Mar 25
    • Set transplants outWinter squashfrom Mar 25
    • Set transplants outZucchinifrom Mar 25

Not in the city centre? Look up your own ZIP code

More in Florida

Where the numbers come from

Sources and method

Frost dates. U.S. Climate Normals 2020: U.S. Annual/Seasonal Climate Normals (1991-2020), NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (Palecki, Durre, Applequist, Arguez and Lawrimore, 2021). These are 30-year station statistics for 1991 to 2020. "Frost" here means an air temperature of 32°F or lower at the station. We use 6,539 stations that have at least 10 years of record and a published date; 176 more are stations where a freeze is too rare for NOAA to date, and 180 are stations cold enough to have frost risk all year.

Probability level. The headline dates are NOAA's 50% level: in half of years the last spring freeze comes later than that date, and in half of years the first fall freeze comes earlier. The 10% and 90% levels are shown next to them. For tender plants, the 10% spring date is the safer one to plan from: a freeze follows it in only 1 year in 10.

Which station. Your ZIP code is matched to the nearest of those stations by straight-line distance from the ZIP code's centre point (GeoNames, geonames.org, CC BY 4.0; 40,979 ZIP codes in the 50 states and DC). Nearest is not always most alike: a station on a hill, in a valley or by the water can differ from your garden by a week or more. That is why the station's name, distance and elevation are shown with every result, along with two more stations nearby. NOAA makes the same point: the normals are limited between stations as distance grows horizontally and vertically.

Seed-starting offsets. Growing Vegetables: When to Plant Your Vegetable Garden, a fact sheet from University of New Hampshire Extension. It gives each crop's weeks from seed to transplant and when it is safe to set out or sow relative to the last frost. The method is theirs too: take the planting date and count back the seed-to-transplant weeks. Where the fact sheet gives a range of planting dates, the start-indoors dates count back from the earliest one. The figures used, as the fact sheet states them:

  • Basil: Seed to transplant 6-8 weeks; set out 2 weeks after last frost.
  • Bean: Plant seed in garden after last frost.
  • Broccoli: Seed to transplant 4-6 weeks; set out 2-4 weeks before last frost.
  • Brussels sprout: Seed to transplant 4-6 weeks; set out 2-4 weeks before last frost.
  • Cabbage: Seed to transplant 4-6 weeks; set out 4 weeks before last frost.
  • Cauliflower: Seed to transplant 4-6 weeks; set out 2 weeks before last frost.
  • Celery: Seed to transplant 10-12 weeks; set out after last frost.
  • Cucumber: Seed to transplant 3-4 weeks; set out 1-2 weeks after last frost.
  • Eggplant: Seed to transplant 8-10 weeks; set out 2-3 weeks after last frost.
  • Kale: Seed to transplant 4-6 weeks; set out 4 weeks before last frost.
  • Kohlrabi: Seed to transplant 4-6 weeks; set out 4 weeks before last frost.
  • Leek: Seed to transplant 8-10 weeks; set out 4 weeks before last frost.
  • Lettuce: Seed to transplant 4-5 weeks; set out 3-4 weeks before last frost.
  • Melon: Seed to transplant 3-4 weeks; set out 2 weeks after last frost.
  • Onion: Seed to transplant 8-10 weeks; set out 4 weeks before last frost.
  • Parsley: Seed to transplant 9-10 weeks; set out 2-3 weeks before last frost.
  • Parsnip: Plant seed in garden after last frost.
  • Pepper: Seed to transplant 8-10 weeks; set out 2 weeks after last frost.
  • Potato: Plant seed potatoes in garden 1-2 weeks before last frost.
  • Pumpkin: Seed to transplant 3-4 weeks; set out 2 weeks after last frost.
  • Radish: Plant seed in garden 2-4 weeks before last frost.
  • Spinach: Seed to transplant 4-6 weeks; set out 3-6 weeks before last frost.
  • Summer squash: Seed to transplant 3-4 weeks; set out 2 weeks after last frost.
  • Sweet potato: Plant slips in garden 1-2 weeks after last frost.
  • Swiss chard: Seed to transplant 4-6 weeks; set out 2 weeks before last frost; or plant seed in garden 4 weeks before last frost.
  • Tomato: Seed to transplant 6-8 weeks; set out 1-2 weeks after last frost.
  • Turnip: Plant seed in garden 2-4 weeks before last frost.
  • Winter squash: Seed to transplant 3-4 weeks; set out 2 weeks after last frost.
  • Zucchini: Seed to transplant 3-4 weeks; set out 2 weeks after last frost.

Not on the calendar. The same fact sheet times these by soil temperature, not by frost date, so they get no date here:

  • Pea: as soon as the soil thaws.
  • Beet: when the soil warms to 45°F.
  • Carrot: when the soil warms to 60°F.
  • Corn: when the soil warms to 60°F.
  • Cucumber, pumpkin, summer squash, winter squash, zucchini: direct-sow when the soil warms to 70°F.

Rutabaga is left out: the fact sheet gives it New Hampshire calendar dates, not a frost offset.

The fact sheet was written for New Hampshire. The offsets are relative to the last frost, so they carry to other places with a spring frost, but where winters are mild many cool-season crops are grown in fall and winter instead. Your state's extension service has the local calendar. Dates are 30-year statistics, not a forecast: check the forecast before setting tender plants out.

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