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Old February 26, 2012   #1
ljp
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Default 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.
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Old February 26, 2012   #2
janezee
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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.

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Old February 26, 2012   #3
PaulF
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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.
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Old February 26, 2012   #4
NorthTom
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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.
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Old February 27, 2012   #5
WillysWoodPile
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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 02:15 PM.
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Old February 28, 2012   #6
Tracydr
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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.
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