When to plant in Bedford, IA

Planting dates worked out from Bedford's own frost records, not a generic zone chart.

Safe to plant out

May 12

1 year in 10 has a later frost

Average last frost

Apr 24

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Oct 18

1 year in 10 by Oct 8

Frost-free days

176

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Bedford · 0.8 km away · station 363 m, town 344 m. How we match towns to stations

This season

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Planting dates for common crops

Crop	Start indoors	Plant out or sow	Harvest from
Tomato	Mar 17 – Mar 31	May 12 – May 26	Jul 6
Sweet pepper	Mar 3 – Mar 17	May 12 – May 26	Jul 11
Lettuce (leaf)	Feb 20 – Feb 27	Mar 27 – Apr 10	May 6
Peas	—	Mar 24 – Apr 21	May 18
Bush beans	—	May 5 – May 26	Jun 24
Carrot	—	Apr 3 – May 15	Jun 2
Beet	—	Apr 3 – May 15	May 23
Potato	—	Apr 3 – Apr 24	Jun 12
Kale	Feb 17 – Mar 3	Mar 31 – Apr 14	May 13
Broccoli	Feb 13 – Feb 27	Mar 27 – Apr 17	May 26
Cucumber	Apr 14 – Apr 21	May 12 – May 26	Jul 1
Summer squash and zucchini	Apr 14 – Apr 21	May 12 – May 26	Jun 26
Winter squash	Apr 14 – Apr 21	May 12 – May 26	Jul 31
Sweet corn	—	May 5 – May 26	Jul 4
Onion (from sets)	—	Mar 27 – Apr 17	Jun 25
Garlic	—	Oct 4 – Nov 1 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Mar 24 – Apr 21	May 1
Basil	Mar 31 – Apr 14	May 12 – May 26	Jul 8

Plan all 65 crops for Bedford

Bedford's weather over time

How the growing season has shifted here, year by year, from the station's own records.

Each year's last spring frostLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Last spring frost
1900	May 3
1903	May 3
1904	Apr 27
1905	Apr 22
1906	May 9
1907	May 16
1908	May 2
1909	May 10
1910	May 13
1911	May 2
1912	May 17
1913	Apr 28
1914	May 14
1915	May 17
1916	May 18
1917	May 8
1918	May 1
1919	May 2
1920	Apr 28
1921	May 15
1938	Apr 12
1939	Apr 21
1940	May 2
1941	Apr 24
1942	May 4
1943	Apr 20
1944	May 6
1945	Apr 18
1946	May 12
1947	May 29
1948	Apr 14
1949	Apr 19
1950	May 1
1951	Apr 23
1952	Apr 16
1953	Apr 27
1954	May 4
1955	Apr 7
1956	Apr 24
1957	Apr 14
1958	Apr 29
1959	May 15
1960	May 1
1961	May 2
1962	Apr 17
1964	Apr 30
1965	Apr 28
1966	May 10
1967	May 3
1968	Apr 25
1969	Apr 29
1970	May 2
1971	May 3
1972	Apr 25
1973	May 15
1974	Apr 24
1975	Apr 20
1976	May 8
1977	Apr 26
1979	Apr 28
1980	May 9
1981	Apr 15
1982	Apr 22
1983	Apr 19
1984	Apr 1
1985	Apr 9
1986	Apr 22
1988	Apr 28
1989	May 6
1990	Apr 30
1991	Apr 10
1992	May 6
1993	Apr 9
1994	Apr 30
1995	Apr 27
1996	Apr 30
1997	May 13
1998	Apr 17
2005	May 5
2006	Apr 9
2007	Apr 15
2008	Apr 30
2009	Apr 14
2011	May 3
2012	Apr 12
2013	May 12
2014	May 16
2015	Apr 24
2016	Apr 13
2017	Apr 12
2018	Apr 20

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1900	136
1903	146
1904	177
1905	171
1906	149
1907	131
1908	148
1909	153
1910	136
1911	170
1912	131
1913	146
1914	165
1915	140
1916	119
1917	150
1918	141
1919	161
1920	154
1921	141
1938	190
1939	161
1940	187
1941	186
1942	142
1943	177
1944	156
1945	173
1946	152
1947	161
1948	185
1949	185
1950	155
1951	157
1952	172
1953	162
1954	178
1955	190
1956	184
1957	193
1958	154
1959	146
1960	170
1961	148
1962	190
1964	150
1965	148
1966	143
1967	143
1968	161
1969	167
1970	160
1971	143
1972	157
1973	142
1974	150
1975	164
1976	150
1977	168
1979	159
1980	146
1981	169
1982	180
1983	156
1984	177
1985	174
1986	174
1988	158
1989	139
1990	162
1992	157
1993	183
1994	177
1995	176
1996	182
1997	153
2006	185
2007	190
2008	168
2011	168
2012	176
2013	157
2014	167
2015	187
2016	182
2017	198

Each year's average temperature, April to SeptemberLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1899	19.1 °C
1900	20.6 °C
1902	18.2 °C
1903	18.0 °C
1904	17.2 °C
1905	18.8 °C
1906	18.8 °C
1907	17.3 °C
1908	18.6 °C
1909	18.6 °C
1910	18.8 °C
1911	20.7 °C
1912	19.0 °C
1913	20.1 °C
1914	20.3 °C
1915	17.9 °C
1916	18.3 °C
1917	17.4 °C
1918	19.5 °C
1919	19.1 °C
1921	20.6 °C
1938	19.9 °C
1939	20.4 °C
1940	19.2 °C
1941	20.8 °C
1942	19.2 °C
1943	19.3 °C
1944	18.9 °C
1945	17.8 °C
1946	18.8 °C
1947	19.2 °C
1948	19.8 °C
1949	19.0 °C
1950	17.1 °C
1951	17.6 °C
1952	20.0 °C
1953	19.9 °C
1954	21.1 °C
1955	21.6 °C
1956	20.5 °C
1957	19.8 °C
1958	19.4 °C
1959	19.4 °C
1960	19.1 °C
1961	17.8 °C
1962	19.4 °C
1964	20.2 °C
1965	19.6 °C
1966	18.0 °C
1967	18.3 °C
1968	19.4 °C
1969	19.6 °C
1970	20.2 °C
1971	19.3 °C
1972	18.9 °C
1973	18.7 °C
1974	18.9 °C
1975	19.2 °C
1976	19.3 °C
1977	20.9 °C
1979	18.7 °C
1980	20.5 °C
1981	19.7 °C
1982	18.7 °C
1983	19.8 °C
1984	19.0 °C
1985	19.3 °C
1986	20.5 °C
1988	21.4 °C
1989	19.0 °C
1990	19.2 °C
1991	20.6 °C
1992	17.9 °C
1993	18.3 °C
1994	19.4 °C
1995	19.2 °C
1996	18.5 °C
1997	18.4 °C
1998	19.6 °C
2005	19.8 °C
2006	19.5 °C
2007	19.8 °C
2008	18.2 °C
2011	19.7 °C
2012	20.9 °C
2013	18.9 °C
2014	17.9 °C
2015	18.7 °C
2016	19.8 °C
2017	19.5 °C
2018	19.8 °C

What this means for you: Since 1900, Bedford's last spring frost has come about 1 day earlier per decade, on average. The frost-free season has grown by about 2 days per decade. Year-to-year swings are large, so keep using the safe date rather than the trend.

Source: daily records from Bedford (NOAA GHCN-Daily). Years with too many missing days are left out.

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