Gardner, MA 01468 Frost Dates
When can you plant in Gardner, MA?
The last spring frost here typically falls around 05/06, about 251 days from today. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/01, about 148 frost-free days later.
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.
What to do before the first frost
About 5 weeks of growing season left in Gardner before the first fall frost — a cold frame or row cover can stretch harvest weeks past that date.
The actual range around Gardner's last frost
05/06 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 04/25 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 05/19 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Gardner compares
About 148 days separate Gardner's last and first frost, putting it 35,667 of 40,283 ZIP codes nationally. Within MA, it ranks 655 of 712.
Learn more
the frost range covers how to read the range around Gardner's dates instead of trusting one. local microclimates covers what one yard in Gardner can differ from the 01468 normal.