FrostDateCheck

Ludlow, VT 05161 Frost Dates

When can you plant in Ludlow, VT?

Zone 5a

Around 05/16 is the usual last spring frost, about 261 days away. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/02, about 140 frost-free days later.

Ludlow sits in USDA Zone 5a (-20 to -15°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 5 weeks of growing season left in Ludlow before the first fall frost — a cold frame or row cover can stretch harvest weeks past that date.

The actual range around Ludlow's last frost

05/16 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 05/01 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 05/31 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.

How Ludlow compares

About 140 days separate Ludlow's last and first frost, putting it 37,094 of 40,283 ZIP codes nationally. Within VT, it ranks 173 of 330.

Learn more

zone vs. frost date covers why Zone 5a and Ludlow's frost date answer different questions. the frost range covers how to read the range around Ludlow's dates instead of trusting one.