Frost dates Kentucky Meads

Frost dates in Meads, Kentucky

Last spring frost Apr 22 First fall frost Oct 23 NOAA 1991-2020

The average last spring frost in Meads is Apr 22 and the average first fall frost is Oct 23, measured at ASHLAND, about 6 miles from the city centre. Below: how sure those dates are, and what to start, sow and set out each week.

Average last spring frostApr 2232°F, 50% probability
Average first fall frostOct 2332°F, 50% probability
Days between them184average 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%Apr 6Nov 3
50%Apr 22Oct 23
10%May 11Oct 11

Read it like this: in half of years the last 32°F freeze of spring comes after Apr 22, and in 1 year in 10 there is still a freeze after May 11. In 1 year in 10 the first fall freeze arrives before Oct 11.

Measured at: ASHLAND, KY (NOAA station USC00150254), about 6 miles away at 560 ft, 23 years of record in 1991-2020.

Other stations nearby, for comparison:

  • S PT, OH (NOAA station USC00337857), about 6 miles away at 553 ft, 27 years of record in 1991-2020: last spring frost Apr 16, first fall frost Oct 30
  • HUNTINGTON TRI STATE AP, WV (NOAA station USW00003860), about 9 miles away at 824 ft, 30 years of record in 1991-2020: last spring frost Apr 14, first fall frost Oct 26

Seed-starting schedule for Meads, KY

Counted from a last frost date of Apr 22 (the average: a freeze comes later than this in half of years).

  1. Week of Jan 1414 weeks before last frost
    • Start seeds indoorsLeekJan 14 to Jan 28
    • Start seeds indoorsOnionJan 14 to Jan 28
  2. Week of Jan 2113 weeks before last frost
    • Start seeds indoorsParsleyJan 21 to Jan 28
  3. Week of Jan 2812 weeks before last frost
    • Start seeds indoorsCeleryJan 28 to Feb 11
    • Start seeds indoorsSpinachJan 28 to Feb 11
  4. Week of Feb 1110 weeks before last frost
    • Start seeds indoorsBroccoliFeb 11 to Feb 25
    • Start seeds indoorsBrussels sproutFeb 11 to Feb 25
    • Start seeds indoorsCabbageFeb 11 to Feb 25
    • Start seeds indoorsKaleFeb 11 to Feb 25
    • Start seeds indoorsKohlrabiFeb 11 to Feb 25
  5. Week of Feb 189 weeks before last frost
    • Start seeds indoorsLettuceFeb 18 to Feb 25
  6. Week of Feb 258 weeks before last frost
    • Start seeds indoorsCauliflowerFeb 25 to Mar 11
    • Start seeds indoorsEggplantFeb 25 to Mar 11
    • Start seeds indoorsPepperFeb 25 to Mar 11
    • Start seeds indoorsSwiss chardFeb 25 to Mar 11
  7. Week of Mar 47 weeks before last frost
    • Start seeds indoorsTomatoMar 4 to Mar 18
  8. Week of Mar 116 weeks before last frost
    • Start seeds indoorsBasilMar 11 to Mar 25
    • Set transplants outSpinachMar 11 to Apr 1
  9. Week of Mar 254 weeks before last frost
    • Sow seed outdoorsRadishMar 25 to Apr 8
    • Sow seed outdoorsSwiss chardfrom Mar 25
    • Sow seed outdoorsTurnipMar 25 to Apr 8
    • Set transplants outBroccoliMar 25 to Apr 8
    • Set transplants outBrussels sproutMar 25 to Apr 8
    • Set transplants outCabbagefrom Mar 25
    • Set transplants outKalefrom Mar 25
    • Set transplants outKohlrabifrom Mar 25
    • Set transplants outLeekfrom Mar 25
    • Set transplants outLettuceMar 25 to Apr 1
    • Set transplants outOnionfrom Mar 25
  10. Week of Apr 13 weeks before last frost
    • Start seeds indoorsCucumberApr 1 to Apr 8
    • Set transplants outParsleyApr 1 to Apr 8
  11. Week of Apr 82 weeks before last frost
    • Start seeds indoorsMelonApr 8 to Apr 15
    • Start seeds indoorsPumpkinApr 8 to Apr 15
    • Start seeds indoorsSummer squashApr 8 to Apr 15
    • Start seeds indoorsWinter squashApr 8 to Apr 15
    • Start seeds indoorsZucchiniApr 8 to Apr 15
    • Plant seed potatoes outdoorsPotatoApr 8 to Apr 15
    • Set transplants outCauliflowerfrom Apr 8
    • Set transplants outSwiss chardfrom Apr 8
  12. Week of Apr 22Last frost week
    • Sow seed outdoorsBeanfrom Apr 22
    • Sow seed outdoorsParsnipfrom Apr 22
    • Set transplants outCeleryfrom Apr 22
  13. Week of Apr 291 week after last frost
    • Plant slips outdoorsSweet potatoApr 29 to May 6
    • Set transplants outCucumberApr 29 to May 6
    • Set transplants outTomatoApr 29 to May 6
  14. Week of May 62 weeks after last frost
    • Set transplants outBasilfrom May 6
    • Set transplants outEggplantMay 6 to May 13
    • Set transplants outMelonfrom May 6
    • Set transplants outPepperfrom May 6
    • Set transplants outPumpkinfrom May 6
    • Set transplants outSummer squashfrom May 6
    • Set transplants outWinter squashfrom May 6
    • Set transplants outZucchinifrom May 6

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

More in Kentucky

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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