Last Frost of the Year?
I'm wondering if this will be the last frost, at least in Eureka, this spring?
I was thinking the last expected day for frost was the middle of March, but I wasn't sure. You usually find rough estimates of the last day of frost in seed catalogs, but this table from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (.pdf file) makes it seem a little more complicated.
They break it down into probabilities and even further into low temperature expectations. So, the simplest way to put it is there's a 90% chance of the last frost date being around February 14. A 50% chance of it being around March 18 and a 10% chance of it being around April 19.
This seed catalog frost table says the last average frost around here in Spring is March 14. That goes along with my recollection.
I can't, for the life of me, remember when the last Spring frost was last year. Can anyone remember when that was?
posted by Fred Mangels @ 9:40 AM
5 comments
5 Comments:
I remember that it was after the beggining of April. I was following the NOAA's table for historical record of temperature. The last recorded day for 32' is April 15th.
I talked to a nursery woman at Miller Farms, and she said she waits until May Day so she has no hassles. I though, I know I can put them down a little sooner. I checked NOAA, right?
Wrong. Due to my rush to judgement, I lost a few tender veggies, and my new kiwis were severly stunted.
I do think that now is the time, but I now know to keep an eye out and the cover cloths ready.
It is great that you posted this as today is my big garden day.
jason
I do not want to see any frost again this year! Make it stop Fred!
In Garberville, the first of May is generally accepted as a time to plant, but be ready to cover if needed, because it can easily frost after that.
As a side note. When I lived in Redway, I had a large vegetable garden in my back yard. It had a six-foot wooden fence around it to keep out critters and wind. My neighbor would start his garden in his green house in March and set it out on the first of May. I would plant my garden on the first of June, but I would set my plants closer together than my neighbor. His garden started producing one week earlier than mine. But, by the fall my garden would out produce his. His plants were large and leggy. Mine were small and productive.
The cold, windy weather in may is just not good garden growing weather. I have to admit it was hard to deal with when he would bring me a nice big bowl of tomatoes that first week before mine would get ripe. It sure seemed to make him happy though.
It warmed above freezing in our house last year in about mid-August.
One of my Jeffersonian habits is that I keep pretty good garden records. And according to my records there were 4 frost in my part of SoHum last April.
April 10th of last year provided a record high. Yet there was a snow-sighting reported in Arcata April 20th.
So while I may struggle under my cold frame today - I'd put my money on May.
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