by Diane Sagers

CORRESPONDENT

In a garden we have some control over seed and plant choices, soil, water, insects and weeds, but we cannot control the weather. We must work within climatic limitations to successfully grow good crops.

The "average date of last frost" is the average date it freezes for the last time each spring. That date varies from year to year, but it generally falls somewhere around that average date. It is important as a target date for planting tender seeds and plants in your summer garden. Use it as a starting point to count backwards to know when to start tender transplants.

Although the communities of eastern Tooele County are located relatively close together, and those of western Tooele County form another relatively close grouping, the magical "average date of last frost" is affected by geography. This means that frosty weather typically ends at different times in different communities. Listed below are the average dates of last frost for the various communities in Tooele County.

Community Average date of last frost

Wendover April 16

Tooele May 3

Erda/Stansbury similar to Tooele

Grantsville similar to Tooele

Lake Point similar to Tooele

Dugway May 9

Callao May 18

Vernon June 1

Rush Valley similar to Vernon

Stockton June 1

Ibapah June 20

Happy gardening!