Gardner, MA 01473 Frost Dates
When can you plant in Gardner, MA?
Around 05/02 is the usual last spring frost, about 247 days away. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/13, about 163 frost-free days later.
Gardner sits in USDA Zone 6a (-10 to -5°F average annual minimum). The dates above are NOAA's 1991-2020 normal at the nearest reporting station, a 30-year average, not a forecast.
What to do before the first frost
About 7 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
05/02 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 04/19 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 05/16 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Gardner compares
Gardner's growing season runs about 163 days, ranking 31,331 of 40,283 US ZIP codes measured here, longest to shortest. Within MA, it ranks 444 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 01473 normal.