Bedford, VA 24570 Frost Dates
Bedford, VA: when does the frost end?
Typically, the last spring freeze lands around 04/07, roughly 222 days out. Fall's first freeze usually shows up around 10/31, roughly 204 days after the last spring frost.
Zone 7b (5 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 Bedford, not a forecast for this year.
Stretching the season past the first frost
With roughly 9 weeks until Bedford's first fall frost, a row cover or cold frame is what stretches the last few weeks of harvest here.
Why 04/07 isn't a guarantee
04/07 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Getting tender plants in by 03/25 carries real risk, frost has hit that late in about 9 of 10 years here. Wait until 04/24 and only about 1 year in 10 sees frost after that.
Bedford against the rest of the dataset
Bedford's growing season runs about 204 days, ranking 16,557 of 40,283 US ZIP codes measured here, longest to shortest. Within VA, it ranks 527 of 1,178.
Learn more
Before leaning on 24570's figures: the frost range explains how to read the range around Bedford's dates instead of trusting one, while local microclimates explains what one yard in Bedford can differ from the 24570 normal.