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USDA Hardiness Zone 6b

Frost Dates for 14716 — Brocton, New York

Averages from Portland1 Sw, Ny US, the nearest reporting station, 2.8 miles away.

Plant tender crops after April 25, and expect the first autumn freeze around October 31. That leaves about 187 frost-free days.

Last spring frost
April 25

50% probability

First fall frost
October 31

50% probability

Growing season
187 days

frost-free

Hardiness zone
6b

-5 to 0°F annual low

Planting calendar for 14716

What to do and when, based on the frost normals for Brocton, New York
WhenWhat to do
February 14 – February 28

Start peppers and aubergines indoors

They need eight to ten weeks under lights before they can go out.

February 28 – March 14

Start tomatoes indoors

Six to eight weeks gives a transplant big enough to set fruit early.

March 28 – April 11

Sow peas, spinach, lettuce, radish outdoors

These tolerate light frost and prefer to germinate in cool soil.

April 25 onward

Transplant tomatoes, peppers, basil, squash, cucumbers

The average last freeze has passed — still watch the actual forecast.

by August 8

Sow the autumn crop of carrots, beets and brassicas

They need about twelve weeks to size up before growth stops.

by October 17

Harvest tender crops, or be ready to cover them

A first freeze two weeks early is well within normal variation.

October 31 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 April 25 to put tender plants — tomatoes, peppers, basil, squash — in the ground. That is the date by which half of years in Brocton, New York are past their last freeze. Harvest before October 31, which leaves roughly 187 frost-free days.

ZIP 14716 sits in USDA hardiness zone 6b, meaning the average coldest night of the year falls between -5 to 0°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.

Other zone 6b ZIP codes in New York