USDA Hardiness Zone 6a
Frost Dates for 81328 — Mancos, Colorado
Averages from Mancos 1sw, Co US, the nearest reporting station, 2.2 miles away.
Plant tender crops after June 4, and expect the first autumn freeze around September 24. That leaves about 111 frost-free days.
- Last spring frost
- June 4
- First fall frost
- September 24
- Growing season
- 111 days
- Hardiness zone
- 6a
50% probability
50% probability
frost-free
-10 to -5°F annual low
- First snow
- November 16
- Last snow
- April 18
- Winters with snow
- 100%
- Snow per year
- 57.1"
median, 1991–2020
median, 1991–2020
25 of 25 observed
NOAA normal
When it snows in Mancos, Colorado
The first measurable snow (0.1 inch or more) in Mancos, Colorado usually arrives around November 16, and the last of the season around April 18. Those are the middle dates across the winters of 1991–2020 at Mancos 1sw, Co 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 81328
| When | What to do |
|---|---|
| March 26 – April 9 | Start peppers and aubergines indoors They need eight to ten weeks under lights before they can go out. |
| April 9 – April 23 | Start tomatoes indoors Six to eight weeks gives a transplant big enough to set fruit early. |
| May 7 – May 21 | Sow peas, spinach, lettuce, radish outdoors These tolerate light frost and prefer to germinate in cool soil. |
| June 4 onward | Transplant tomatoes, peppers, basil, squash, cucumbers The average last freeze has passed — still watch the actual forecast. |
| by July 2 | Sow the autumn crop of carrots, beets and brassicas They need about twelve weeks to size up before growth stops. |
| by September 10 | Harvest tender crops, or be ready to cover them A first freeze two weeks early is well within normal variation. |
| September 24 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 June 4 to put tender plants — tomatoes, peppers, basil, squash — in the ground. That is the date by which half of years in Mancos, Colorado are past their last freeze. Harvest before September 24, which leaves roughly 111 frost-free days.
ZIP 81328 sits in USDA hardiness zone 6a, meaning the average coldest night of the year falls between -10 to -5°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.