Cambridge, MA 02138 Frost Dates
When can you plant in Cambridge, MA?
The last spring frost here typically falls around 04/19, about 234 days from today. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/23, about 185 frost-free days later.
Zone 6b (-5 to 0°F average annual minimum) comes from the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map; the frost dates above are the 1991-2020 normal at the nearest reporting NOAA station for Cambridge, not a forecast for this year.
What to do before the first frost
About 8 weeks of growing season left in Cambridge before the first fall frost — a cold frame or row cover can stretch harvest weeks past that date.
Why 04/19 isn't a guarantee
04/19 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 04/06 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 05/03 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Cambridge compares
At roughly 185 frost-free days, Cambridge places 23,019 of 40,283 ZIP codes in this dataset. Within MA, it ranks 171 of 712.
Learn more
zone vs. frost date covers why Zone 6b and Cambridge's frost date answer different questions. the frost range covers how to read the range around Cambridge's dates instead of trusting one.