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Frost dates for Turner, Maine

Half of years have their last spring frost by May 1, but 1 year in 10 still frosts after May 13.

A frost date is really a percentile from 30 years of records at a nearby weather station: in about half of years a frost still comes after the median date. Both numbers are below, so you can choose the risk yourself.

The odds

Last spring frost

How often a frost still comes on or after each date.

1 year in 10
May 13
1 year in 5
May 9
3 years in 10
May 5
2 years in 5
May 3
Half of years (the median)
May 1

First fall freeze

How often the first freeze comes on or before each date.

1 year in 10
September 29
1 year in 5
October 2
3 years in 10
October 5
2 years in 5
October 7
Half of years (the median)
October 10
Growing season
about 162 days
Hardiness zone nearby
5b
Summer days
a usual high of about 25 °C77 °F
Lettuce and spinach run to seed
July to August, in hot, long days (how we know)

Summer and rain

A growing garden needs about 25 mm1 in of water a week, rain and watering together. Here is what a normal month brings.

Month by month

January
high ~-2 °C28 °F · low ~-12 °C10 °F · rain ~93 mm3.6 in
February
high ~0 °C31 °F · low ~-11 °C12 °F · rain ~76 mm3 in
March
high ~4 °C39 °F · low ~-6 °C21 °F · rain ~96 mm3.8 in
April
high ~11 °C52 °F · low ~0 °C33 °F · rain ~108 mm4.2 in
May
high ~18 °C65 °F · low ~6 °C43 °F · rain ~96 mm3.8 in
June
high ~23 °C74 °F · low ~12 °C53 °F · rain ~112 mm4.4 in
July
high ~26 °C79 °F · low ~15 °C59 °F · rain ~100 mm3.9 in
August
high ~26 °C78 °F · low ~14 °C57 °F · rain ~89 mm3.5 in
September
high ~21 °C71 °F · low ~9 °C49 °F · rain ~100 mm3.9 in
October
high ~14 °C57 °F · low ~4 °C39 °F · rain ~129 mm5.1 in
November
high ~7 °C45 °F · low ~-2 °C28 °F · rain ~112 mm4.4 in
December
high ~1 °C34 °F · low ~-8 °C18 °F · rain ~111 mm4.4 in

Where these numbers come from

NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 Climate Normals, the Turner station (listed by NOAA as Turner, USC00178817), at 44.28, -70.26. These are that station’s own records, unshifted. The further your garden is from it, the less exactly they describe your ground. The planner finds the nearest station to your garden and lowers its confidence with distance, so no number is presented as if it were measured in your garden.

Cold air also pools in low ground on the clear, still nights when frost happens, so a hollow can freeze while a slope a few hundred feet away does not. No table can know that about your garden. A few seasons of your own logged frosts can.

ZIP codes nearest this station

04220, 04238, 04263, 04265, 04271, 04281, 04282.

Nearby stations

The nearest stations and how their last-frost dates compare. Together they show how frost varies across your area.

What can I plant now? ›

When do I plant? · Where the dates come from

More ways Milpa can help

When do I plant? · What grows well together? · Plan my garden · What can I plant now? · Something wrong in the garden? · Keep a garden diary · Heard a tip?

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