Last and first frost dates in Fargo

When is the last frost in Fargo?

The last frost in Fargo usually comes around 30 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 9 April, while corn waits until 11 May. The first autumn frost follows around 16 October, about 169 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.

What planting zone is Fargo?

The official USDA map (2023, 1991–2020 data) puts the centre of Fargo (ZIP 58102) in zone 4a. Zone 4a stands for an average coldest night of -30 to -25 °F (-34.4 to -31.7 °C), so perennials hardy to zone 4a or a colder zone should come through a typical winter here.

Check the official USDA map for Fargo: USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map.

When the soil warms up in Fargo

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 3 days after the last spring frost and 15 °C 18 days after it.

Frost dates near Fargo

Of the nearest cities on our list, the last spring frost ends earliest in Minneapolis (28 April) and latest in Winnipeg (12 May).

Seeds, seedlings and markets in Fargo

Within 15 km of Fargo OpenStreetMap lists 3 garden centres and 3 markets (collected 20 October 2026). The nearest garden centre to the city centre is Hildbrants Farmers Market, 8 km away.

• Hildbrants Farmers Market — garden centre
  Main Avenue East 349, 58078 West Fargo · 8 km
• Red River Market — market
  Broadway North 210, 58102 Fargo · Jul 08–Oct 28 Sat 10:00–14:00 · 0 km · redriver.market
• Moorhead Farmers Market — market
  1st Avenue North 202, 56560 Moorhead · Jun–Sept: Tue 03:30–18:30; Jul 04 closed · 1 km · cityofmoorhead.com
• Brewhalla — market
  1st Avenue North 1702, 58103 Fargo · Mon–Sun 10:00–20:00 · 2 km

• Where to buy seeds and seedlings in Fargo
• Selling your own harvest in the United States

Places: © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.

Weather in Fargo by month

Average weather in Fargo over 2016–2025: the warmest month is July. Months that average 20 °C or more by day: May–September (20.9–28.4 °C). Nights average below 0 °C in November–April (-14.9–-0.1 °C). About 666 mm of rain falls in a year, on 91 days; August is the wettest month (96 mm) and January the driest (16 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).