USDA Hardiness Zone 5b
Frost Dates for 03217 — Ashland, New Hampshire
Averages from Plymouth, Nh US, the nearest reporting station, 5.5 miles away.
Plant tender crops after May 20, and expect the first autumn freeze around September 27. That leaves about 128 frost-free days.
- Last spring frost
- May 20
- First fall frost
- September 27
- Growing season
- 128 days
- Hardiness zone
- 5b
50% probability
50% probability
frost-free
-15 to -10°F annual low
- First snow
- November 18
- Last snow
- April 5
- Winters with snow
- 100%
- Snow per year
- 68.3"
median, 1991–2020
median, 1991–2020
17 of 17 observed
NOAA normal
When it snows in Ashland, New Hampshire
The first measurable snow (0.1 inch or more) in Ashland, New Hampshire usually arrives around November 18, and the last of the season around April 5. Those are the middle dates across the winters of 1991–2020 at Plymouth, Nh US: half of years saw snow earlier, half later. Every one of those winters saw snow.
For a gardener, snow matters less than frost: a light snow on frozen ground changes nothing, while a hard frost on an unprotected bed ends the season. Use the frost dates above for planting and the snow dates for getting hoses drained, mulch down and tender pots indoors.
Planting calendar for 03217
| When | What to do |
|---|---|
| March 11 – March 25 | Start peppers and aubergines indoors They need eight to ten weeks under lights before they can go out. |
| March 25 – April 8 | Start tomatoes indoors Six to eight weeks gives a transplant big enough to set fruit early. |
| April 22 – May 6 | Sow peas, spinach, lettuce, radish outdoors These tolerate light frost and prefer to germinate in cool soil. |
| May 20 onward | Transplant tomatoes, peppers, basil, squash, cucumbers The average last freeze has passed — still watch the actual forecast. |
| by July 5 | Sow the autumn crop of carrots, beets and brassicas They need about twelve weeks to size up before growth stops. |
| by September 13 | Harvest tender crops, or be ready to cover them A first freeze two weeks early is well within normal variation. |
| September 27 onward | Plant garlic, mulch beds, lift tender bulbs Garlic wants a cold spell; bare soil loses structure over winter. |
What these dates mean
Wait until after May 20 to put tender plants — tomatoes, peppers, basil, squash — in the ground. That is the date by which half of years in Ashland, New Hampshire are past their last freeze. Harvest before September 27, which leaves roughly 128 frost-free days.
ZIP 03217 sits in USDA hardiness zone 5b, meaning the average coldest night of the year falls between -15 to -10°F. Zone decides what survives the winter; frost dates decide when to plant each spring. They are different questions, and a plant can pass one and fail the other.
These are thirty-year NOAA averages for 1991–2020, not a forecast. Any individual year can frost two to three weeks either side of these dates, so check the actual forecast before planting out.