Gardner, MA 01438 Frost Dates
Gardner, MA: when does the frost end?
The last spring frost here typically falls around 05/06, about 251 days from today. Fall's first freeze usually shows up around 10/01, roughly 148 days after the last spring frost.
The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Gardner in Zone 5b (-15 to -10°F average annual minimum); frost dates are NOAA's 1991-2020 station normal, not this year's forecast.
Stretching the season past the first frost
With roughly 5 weeks until Gardner's first fall frost, a row cover or cold frame is what stretches the last few weeks of harvest here.
Why 05/06 isn't a guarantee
05/06 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Getting tender plants in by 04/25 carries real risk, frost has hit that late in about 9 of 10 years here. Wait until 05/19 and only about 1 year in 10 sees frost after that.
Gardner against the rest of the dataset
At roughly 148 frost-free days, Gardner places 35,666 of 40,283 ZIP codes in this dataset. Within MA, it ranks 654 of 712.
Learn more
Before leaning on 01438's figures: zone vs. frost date explains why Zone 5b and Gardner's frost date answer different questions, while the frost range explains how to read the range around Gardner's dates instead of trusting one.