Franklin, NH 03231 Frost Dates
When can you plant in Franklin, NH?
Around 05/07 is the usual last spring frost, about 252 days away. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/03, about 148 frost-free days later.
The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Franklin 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 Franklin before the first fall frost — a cold frame or row cover can stretch harvest weeks past that date.
The actual range around Franklin's last frost
05/07 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 04/27 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 05/20 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Franklin compares
At roughly 148 frost-free days, Franklin places 35,693 of 40,283 ZIP codes in this dataset. Within NH, it ranks 141 of 260.
Learn more
local microclimates covers what one yard in Franklin can differ from the 03231 normal. zone vs. frost date covers why Zone 5b and Franklin's frost date answer different questions.