Essex Junction, VT 05453 Frost Dates
When can you plant in Essex Junction, VT?
Around 04/29 is the usual last spring frost, about 244 days away. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/15, about 169 frost-free days later.
Zone 5a (-20 to -15°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 Essex Junction, not a forecast for this year.
What to do before the first frost
About 7 weeks of growing season left in Essex Junction 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
04/29 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 04/17 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 05/11 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Essex Junction compares
At roughly 169 frost-free days, Essex Junction places 29,382 of 40,283 ZIP codes in this dataset. Within VT, it ranks 16 of 330.
Learn more
zone vs. frost date covers why Zone 5a and Essex Junction's frost date answer different questions. the frost range covers how to read the range around Essex Junction's dates instead of trusting one.