USDA Hardiness Zone 6b
Frost Dates for 48229 — Ecorse, Michigan
Averages from Dearborn, Mi US, the nearest reporting station, 6.6 miles away.
Plant tender crops after May 1, and expect the first autumn freeze around October 15. That leaves about 166 frost-free days.
- Last spring frost
- May 1
- First fall frost
- October 15
- Growing season
- 166 days
- Hardiness zone
- 6b
50% probability
50% probability
frost-free
-5 to 0°F annual low
Planting calendar for 48229
| When | What to do |
|---|---|
| February 20 – March 6 | Start peppers and aubergines indoors They need eight to ten weeks under lights before they can go out. |
| March 6 – March 20 | Start tomatoes indoors Six to eight weeks gives a transplant big enough to set fruit early. |
| April 3 – April 17 | Sow peas, spinach, lettuce, radish outdoors These tolerate light frost and prefer to germinate in cool soil. |
| May 1 onward | Transplant tomatoes, peppers, basil, squash, cucumbers The average last freeze has passed — still watch the actual forecast. |
| by July 23 | Sow the autumn crop of carrots, beets and brassicas They need about twelve weeks to size up before growth stops. |
| by October 1 | Harvest tender crops, or be ready to cover them A first freeze two weeks early is well within normal variation. |
| October 15 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 1 to put tender plants — tomatoes, peppers, basil, squash — in the ground. That is the date by which half of years in Ecorse, Michigan are past their last freeze. Harvest before October 15, which leaves roughly 166 frost-free days.
ZIP 48229 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.