0
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Last frost date in Pennsylvania?

General    PA

I give up. This weather is so awful. Does anybody have a good resource for the predicted last frost date in central Pennsylvania? It seems no matter how much I plan, the weather has other ideas... So frustrating!


Posted by: Marsha Anderson (5 points) Marsha Anderson
Posted: March 25, 2013




Answers

2
points
I use memorial day weekend as a guide for planting in central PA. Peppers, tomatoes and cucurbits go in after that date and never before. Has worked out well for me over the past five years.

There are some crops you can plant early, even in weather like we are having (or slightly warmer). If you use a fabric row cover you can plant lettuce, peas, swiss chard, beets, and spinach. Check out sites like Johnny's Seeds and look up row cover options. These covers are easy to put over your plants with a little support (I use supports made of PVC pipe and connectors - pretty cheap and last for a long time). They provide protection from frost and insects and are particularly useful for cold tolerant plants like the ones I listed above. I have grown lettuce right into December using these when we had some of the more mild winters.


Posted by: Kerry Mauck (58 points) Kerry Mauck
Posted: March 28, 2013


Kerry Mauck commented,
One note - I usually start these plants indoors and harden them off, then transplant. Direct seeding is challenging when the ground is very cold and germination can sometimes suffer.
about 11 years ago.



1
point
When I lived in Central Pennsylvania, I used Memorial Day weekend as my guide for my home garden. There is a great map that shows last frost dates. There are regions of Central Pennsylvania that can get frost in May.
http://www.plantmaps.com/interactive-...


Posted by: Rachel Melnick-Lippart (3 points) Rachel Melnick-Lippart
Posted: March 25, 2013




0
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This is not going to help much but I recall that even after a good spell of weather last year we had a nasty frost (mi-April I think) that killed all the apple tree blossoms (and Magnolia)



Posted by: David Hughes (67 points) David Hughes
Posted: March 25, 2013




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