Hartington, NE 68739 Frost Dates
When can you plant in Hartington, NE?
Typically, the last spring freeze lands around 04/30, roughly 245 days out. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/05, about 159 frost-free days later.
Hartington 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 Hartington before the first fall frost — a cold frame or row cover can stretch harvest weeks past that date.
Why 04/30 isn't a guarantee
04/30 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. 05/13 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Hartington compares
At roughly 159 frost-free days, Hartington places 32,683 of 40,283 ZIP codes in this dataset. Within NE, it ranks 404 of 605.
Learn more
zone vs. frost date covers why Zone 5b and Hartington's frost date answer different questions. the frost range covers how to read the range around Hartington's dates instead of trusting one.