Kalkaska, MI 49680 Frost Dates
When can you plant in Kalkaska, MI?
Around 05/24 is the usual last spring frost, about 269 days away. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/04, about 133 frost-free days later.
The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Kalkaska in Zone 5b (-15 to -10°F average annual minimum); frost dates are NOAA's 1991-2020 station normal, not this year's forecast.
What to do before the first frost
About 5 weeks of growing season left in Kalkaska before the first fall frost — a cold frame or row cover can stretch harvest weeks past that date.
The actual range around Kalkaska's last frost
05/24 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 05/03 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 06/08 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Kalkaska compares
Kalkaska's growing season runs about 133 days, ranking 38,063 of 40,283 US ZIP codes measured here, longest to shortest. Within MI, it ranks 995 of 1,153.
Learn more
local microclimates covers what one yard in Kalkaska can differ from the 49680 normal. zone vs. frost date covers why Zone 5b and Kalkaska's frost date answer different questions.