Last and first frost dates in Neuchâtel

When is the last frost in Neuchâtel?

The last frost in Neuchâtel usually comes around 29 March: 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 8 March, while corn waits until 20 April. The first autumn frost follows around 28 November, about 244 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 Neuchâtel

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 12 days after the last spring frost and 15 °C 46 days after it.

Frost dates near Neuchâtel

Of the nearest cities on our list, the last spring frost ends earliest in Lausanne (12 April) and latest in Biel/Bienne (29 April).

Seeds, seedlings and markets in Neuchâtel

Within 15 km of Neuchâtel OpenStreetMap lists 4 garden centres, 3 farm-supply shops, 2 plant nurseries, 2 markets and 20 farm shops (collected 27 October 2026). The nearest garden centre to the city centre is Jardin de la main, 1 km away.

• Jardin de la main — garden centre
  Rue de la Main 6A, 2000 · 1 km
• Landi — farm supply
  Passage des Cèpes, 2053 Cernier · Mon–Fri 08:00–18:30; Sat 08:00–17:00 · 8 km · landi.ch
• Marché de Neuchâtel — market
  Tue, Thu, Sat 07:00–13:00 · 0 km · marche-neuchatel.ch
• Marché à la ferme — farm shop
  Mon–Fri 09:00–12:00, 15:00–19:00; Sat 09:00–17:00; Sun 09:00–12:00 · 8 km
• Garden Center Meier — garden centre
  Avenue de Longueville 10a, 2013 Colombier · 6 km
• Agri Centre Stähli Sàrl — farm supply
  Grand-Rue 50, 2054 Chézard-St-Martin · 8 km · agri-centre.ch

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

Places: © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.

Weather in Neuchâtel by month

Average weather in Neuchâtel over 2016–2025: the warmest month is July. Months that average 20 °C or more by day: June–September (20.5–25.1 °C). No month averages below 0 °C at night; the coldest nights, in January, average 0.5 °C. About 1253 mm of rain falls in a year, on 160 days; May is the wettest month (126 mm) and February the driest (76 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).