Belfast, ME 04973 Frost Dates
When can you plant in Belfast, ME?
The last spring frost here typically falls around 05/07, about 252 days from today. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/05, about 151 frost-free days later.
Zone 5b (-15 to -10°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 Belfast, not a forecast for this year.
What to do before the first frost
About 5 weeks of growing season left in Belfast before the first fall frost — a cold frame or row cover can stretch harvest weeks past that date.
How much risk comes with planting early here
05/07 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 04/28 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 05/21 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Belfast compares
At roughly 151 frost-free days, Belfast places 34,998 of 40,283 ZIP codes in this dataset. Within ME, it ranks 270 of 456.
Learn more
local microclimates covers what one yard in Belfast can differ from the 04973 normal. zone vs. frost date covers why Zone 5b and Belfast's frost date answer different questions.