the last frost.. is usually a week after i decide to plant my most tender plant... Very funny Ken :). you should be well enough introduced to the vagaries of mother nature.. to understand.. that no governmental information is not going to give you an 'good' answer ... I disagree completely. Knowledge is power Ken! And I think such data (weather stats) is best collected and then disseminated via a gov't agency. Having said that I cant find these #s! Up here the Victoria Day long weekend (the holiday is the Monday preceding May 25) is considered the weekend for which most annuals get planted. But clearly this is arbitrary. And given this apparently late spring I want to get my tender plants in the ground as soon as possible ...but I dont want to be reckless. So having knowledge of the "average last frost date" for my location would be useful and worthwhile.

The last time this data set was calculated was for the 1951-1980. However Environment Canada will be including updated info ie 1981-2010 sometime this year. The 1951-1980 Canadian Climate Normals Volume 6 - Frost is available at an FTP site. (It appears I cant give this link in a GW post as it begins with ftp and not http. Message me and I will reply with the location)

Bonnie makes a good point. Lots of issues at play. In your case, I think you can certainly plant them out. Flexibility is an important asset in planting out. Just as some springs are cold, with late frosts, there are also warm springs where the last frost occurs earlier than usual. The last frost date simply represents a 50% average. One thing you should not do is go by the calendar alone. Instead, consider temperature trends, forecasts and soil temperatures. I planted most of my tomatoes and peppers. Still waiting on eggplants,squash and okra. Do I think I've dodged frost for the season? No, but I'm prepared to use row covers if needed. Do I think I've dodged hard frosts? Yes. I still have some backups though. Nothing is guaranteed in gardening. An August frost can wipe out all warm season crops. So take advantage of any 'season extensions' you get, even in spring.

Glad to hear that everything is okay. We have a heavy frost again this morning. I covered up again last night and so I am pretty sure that things will be okay here too. The only things I have out there other than my seedlings, are my geraniums and a couple of potted mums that I had received as gifts and are past their prime. You are very brave to have put out your brugs already. I have been too afraid to put anything like that out yet, although I am very anxious to get them out. I am at the time of year when I just want my house back! gg