FrostDateCheck

Jacksonville, VT 05350 Frost Dates

When can you plant in Jacksonville, VT?

Zone 5b

The last spring frost here typically falls around 05/14, about 259 days from today. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/04, about 143 frost-free days later.

Jacksonville sits in USDA Zone 5b (-15 to -10°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 Jacksonville 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

05/14 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 04/30 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 05/26 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.

How Jacksonville compares

About 143 days separate Jacksonville's last and first frost, putting it 36,647 of 40,283 ZIP codes nationally. Within VT, it ranks 127 of 330.

Learn more

local microclimates covers what one yard in Jacksonville can differ from the 05350 normal. zone vs. frost date covers why Zone 5b and Jacksonville's frost date answer different questions.