Last and first frost dates in Bern

When is the last frost in Bern?

The last frost in Bern usually comes around 24 April: that is the median of 2016–2025, so in about half of those years the last night at or below 0 °C came later. Hardy crops start before it and frost-tender ones only after it: in the table below arugula can go into open ground from 3 April, while corn waits until 13 May. The first autumn frost follows around 3 November, about 193 days later: harvest or cover frost-tender crops before then.

When to sow and plant

Planting out: a week after the last frost once the soil is warm enough for the crop; frost-hardy crops three weeks before it; an unheated greenhouse three weeks earlier. Seedlings are sown so they are ready on that day. Each window starts on the Greenly calendar date and ends on the last day that still leaves the crop’s days to harvest (from its card) before the average first autumn frost, plus six weeks of picking for crops harvested over weeks (tomatoes, peppers, aubergines, cucumbers, courgettes, pumpkins, watermelons, beans) — our rule; earlier in the window is safer.

When the soil warms up in Bern

The day the top 7 cm of soil first averages each temperature over a week, median of 2016–2025 (ERA5 via Open-Meteo). The soil reaches 10 °C 2 days after the last spring frost and 15 °C 40 days after it.

Frost dates near Bern

Of the nearest cities on our list, the last spring frost ends earliest in Neuchâtel (29 March) and latest in Lucerne (2 May).

Seeds, seedlings and markets in Bern

Within 15 km of Bern OpenStreetMap lists 8 garden centres, 2 plant nurseries, 8 markets and 53 farm shops (collected 27 October 2026). The nearest garden centre to the city centre is Wyss GartenLaden, 1 km away.

• Wyss GartenLaden — garden centre
  Mon–Fri 09:00–12:30, 13:30–18:30; Sat 08:00–17:00 · 1 km · wyssgarten.ch
• Fleisch und Delikatessenmarkt — market
  Tue 07:00–12:00; Sat 07:00–12:00 · 0 km · bernerwochenmarkt.ch
• Rohrbachs Hofprodukte — farm shop
  Bühlweg 8, 3072 Ostermundigen · Mon–Sun 08:00–22:00 · 3 km · rohrbachs-hofprodukte.ch
• Wyss Gartencenter — garden centre
  Untere Zollgasse 81, 3072 Ostermundigen · 3 km
• Handwerkermärit — market
  Mar–Dec: Sat[1] 09:00–17:00; Dec: Sun[1], Sun[3] 10:00–17:00; Dec: Sat[3] 09:00–17:00 · 0 km · handwerkermaerit.ch
• GmüesGarage — farm shop
  Seftigenstrasse 400, 3084 Wabern · 07:00–21:00 · 4 km · gruenesband.ch

• Where to buy seeds and seedlings in Bern
• Selling your own harvest in Switzerland

Places: © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.

Weather in Bern by month

Average weather in Bern over 2016–2025: the warmest month is July. Months that average 20 °C or more by day: June (22.1 °C), July (23.7 °C) and August (23.7 °C). Nights average below 0 °C in November–March (-4–-0.3 °C). About 1190 mm of rain falls in a year, on 160 days; May is the wettest month (131 mm) and February the driest (66 mm).

Average of the daily highs and lows, rain per month and days with at least 1 mm (ERA5 via Open-Meteo, the same grid cell as the frost dates).

Planted in autumn

From a month before the first autumn frost, so the roots grow before winter, to the late-planting limit on each crop’s page (about two weeks before the ground freezes, by ten years of weather).