When to Plant Chives in Chicopee, Massachusetts, United States

Step by step in Chicopee

Import into Apple Calendar, Google Calendar or Outlook. Dates use the selected risk level and are planning estimates, not frost alerts.

Each window is a planning range. Check the forecast, soil and cultivar before planting; a later date is not automatically safer in hot or wet conditions.

Start indoors

3-24 Mar

Eight weeks before your last frost, under cover or on a windowsill.

Sow direct

8-29 Apr

Delayed by a soil-warming estimate derived from historical air temperatures. The frost-only date would be 31 Mar. Measure your soil before planting.

Plant

8-29 Apr

Delayed by a soil-warming estimate derived from historical air temperatures. The frost-only date would be 31 Mar. Measure your soil before planting.

Harvest

7 Jun - 7 Jul

Frost tolerance

Very-hardy

Damaged below

-25°C (-13°F)

Min soil temp

7°C (44.6°F)

Spacing

20 cm

Sowing depth

6 mm (0.2 in)

Sun

Full

Chives through the year

Against the frost risk in Chicopee

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Chives

Frost risk Start indoors Sow direct Plant Harvest Today

Seasonal context

Rainfall and the growing season in Chicopee

October has the highest average precipitation (124 mm); January has the lowest (77 mm). Compare this pattern with the planting windows and your water supply.

Jan 77 mm

Feb 81 mm

Mar 95 mm

Apr 104 mm

May 93 mm

Jun 117 mm

Jul 103 mm

Aug 102 mm

Sep 105 mm

Oct 124 mm

Nov 89 mm

Dec 111 mm

During wetter months, check that beds and containers drain after heavy rain. During drier months, plan how you will keep seeds and new transplants watered. Monthly averages can hide long dry spells and intense storms; they do not show soil moisture, humidity or this week's weather.

Source: NASA POWER, corrected MERRA-2 precipitation, 2001–2020. Values are approximate monthly totals, including the water equivalent of snow, from the nearest 0.5° × 0.625° grid cell. This reference period differs from the temperature record. Rainfall provides context and does not change the calculated planting dates. Method and limitations.

Monthly growing conditions in Chicopee

Compare the planting window with the local temperature pattern. These are historical monthly averages, not this year's forecast or measured soil temperatures. Average frost days do not tell you whether a particular night will freeze.

NASA POWER climate averages, 1995–2024
Month	Average low	Average high	Frost days
January	-8.4°C (16.8°F)	0.3°C (32.5°F)	28.6
February	-7.6°C (18.3°F)	1.8°C (35.3°F)	26.5
March	-3.5°C (25.6°F)	6.7°C (44°F)	24.9
April	1.8°C (35.3°F)	13.7°C (56.6°F)	10.0
May	8.1°C (46.5°F)	19.8°C (67.7°F)	0.4
June	13.5°C (56.4°F)	24.8°C (76.6°F)	0.0
July	17°C (62.7°F)	28.5°C (83.2°F)	0.0
August	16.4°C (61.5°F)	28.2°C (82.7°F)	0.0
September	12.3°C (54.1°F)	24.4°C (76°F)	0.0
October	6°C (42.8°F)	17°C (62.7°F)	2.8
November	0.1°C (32.1°F)	9.6°C (49.3°F)	16.3
December	-4.6°C (23.7°F)	3.4°C (38.1°F)	26.1

For chives, also check drainage, sunlight and cultivar requirements. See the rainfall context above; humidity, irrigation and local pest pressure are not calculated.

Local growing check

Before choosing chives for Chicopee

October is the wettest month in the rainfall grid, averaging about 124 mm. Check how your own bed drains and plan watering around actual soil moisture; monthly rain totals are not an irrigation schedule.

The temperature and rainfall tables on this page show the underlying climate estimates. How these suitability checks work · Record what happens in your garden.

Before you plant chives

Use the calendar to plan ahead, then check the conditions in your own garden.

Measure the soil at sowing depth. Aim for at least 7°C (44.6°F); the calendar estimates soil warmth from air temperatures and cannot measure your bed.
Frost tolerance does not make saturated or frozen soil suitable for planting. Wait until the bed can be worked without smearing or compacting it.
Harden off plants raised indoors: gradually expose them to outdoor light, wind and temperature before their final move into the bed.
Check mature size, drainage and cultivar suitability before choosing a permanent position. A suitable planting window does not guarantee long-term survival or fruiting.

Build a healthy clump before frequent cutting

Use a drained bed or container in sun or partial shade. Keep young plants supplied with moisture and remove weeds between the fine leaves. Divide crowded established clumps so the replacement pieces have both roots and growing shoots.

Cut usable leaves near their base while leaving enough growth for recovery. Flowers attract pollinators; remove spent heads before seed ripens if you want to limit volunteer plants. Do not identify edible chives from the appearance of an unknown ornamental allium.

What to record this season

How quickly did the clump replace leaves after each cutting? Add the cultivar, sowing date and conditions to your growing record so you can compare next season.

Further reading: NC State Extension: Allium schoenoprasum . General crop guidance; local dates on this site are calculated separately. Source checked 19 September 2026 by Safe to Plant; this is not an expert review.

The reference describes plant identity and cultivation. Its regional calendar months and hardiness observations do not validate the calculated dates for another location.

How the dates are calculated and their limits · Keep a growing record · Report a local discrepancy

Why these dates

Use a drained bed or container in sun or partial shade. Keep young plants supplied with moisture and remove weeds between the fine leaves. Divide crowded established clumps so the replacement pieces have both roots and growing shoots.

Check the named variety and local forecast before exposing young growth. The catalog cold-damage figure is a reference, not a guarantee: plant age, acclimatisation, wind and the duration of a freeze affect damage.

This calendar uses frost-relative offsets as a starting point. Chives are timed from 8 weeks before that frost for an indoor start, with planting out 4 weeks before it, and this page simply resolves those offsets against the frost date computed for Chicopee.

The calendar also applies a soil-warming estimate derived from historical air temperatures. Where that estimate is later than the frost-based date, it delays the window. Soil in your own garden can warm earlier or later; a thermometer at sowing depth is a better final check. Cold, wet conditions can slow germination and increase decay risk.

See every crop timed for Chicopee →

Nearby

Chives in places close by

North Chicopee 4 km Springfield 5 km East Hartford 41 km Hartford 43 km West Hartford 44 km New Britain 56 km

Also in Chicopee

Other herbs to time

Basil tender Coriander half hardy Parsley hardy Rosemary hardy Lavender hardy Mint very hardy Lemongrass tender Sage very hardy Dill half hardy Thyme hardy Wild garlic very hardy

Growing chives in Chicopee

Can I grow chives in Chicopee?

The calendar estimates a planting window, not a guarantee of success. October is the wettest month in the rainfall grid, averaging about 124 mm. Check how your own bed drains and plan watering around actual soil moisture; monthly rain totals are not an irrigation schedule.

When should I plant chives in Chicopee?

Aim for 8-29 Apr in an average year. If you would rather not gamble on the weather, wait until 16 Apr - 7 May - by then frost has finished in nine years out of ten.

Can I plant chives earlier in Chicopee?

The historical frost estimate is 31 Mar. For Chives, an air-temperature model estimates soil warmth of about 7°C (44.6°F) around 8 Apr. This is not a soil measurement or a forecast. Check your bed at sowing depth; cold, wet conditions can slow growth and increase decay risk.

When might chives be ready to harvest in Chicopee?

The estimated period is 7 Jun - 7 Jul, based on 60 to 90 days from the modeled planting date. Cultivar, planting material and growing conditions can change this interval; check the plant as well as the calendar.

How much frost will chives tolerate?