Gardiner, ME 04543 Frost Dates
When can you plant in Gardiner, ME?
Typically, the last spring freeze lands around 04/27, roughly 242 days out. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/18, about 172 frost-free days later.
The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Gardiner in Zone 6a (-10 to -5°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 7 weeks of growing season left in Gardiner before the first fall frost — a cold frame or row cover can stretch harvest weeks past that date.
The actual range around Gardiner's last frost
04/27 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 04/16 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 05/10 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Gardiner compares
About 172 days separate Gardiner's last and first frost, putting it 28,264 of 40,283 ZIP codes nationally. Within ME, it ranks 107 of 456.
Learn more
zone vs. frost date covers why Zone 6a and Gardiner's frost date answer different questions. the frost range covers how to read the range around Gardiner's dates instead of trusting one.