When to plant in Centerville (near Ottumwa), IA

Planting dates worked out from Centerville (near Ottumwa)'s own frost records, not a generic zone chart.

Safe to plant out

May 13

1 year in 10 has a later frost

Average last frost

Apr 27

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Oct 16

1 year in 10 by Sep 29

Frost-free days

170

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Centerville · 1.4 km away · station 276 m, town 307 m. How we match towns to stations

This season

Plan your garden.

Build my Centerville (near Ottumwa) plan

Planting dates for common crops

Crop	Start indoors	Plant out or sow	Harvest from
Tomato	Mar 18 – Apr 1	May 13 – May 27	Jul 7
Sweet pepper	Mar 4 – Mar 18	May 13 – May 27	Jul 12
Lettuce (leaf)	Feb 23 – Mar 2	Mar 30 – Apr 13	May 9
Peas	—	Mar 23 – Apr 20	May 17
Bush beans	—	May 6 – May 27	Jun 25
Carrot	—	Apr 6 – May 18	Jun 5
Beet	—	Apr 2 – May 14	May 22
Potato	—	Apr 6 – Apr 27	Jun 15
Kale	Feb 16 – Mar 2	Mar 30 – Apr 13	May 12
Broccoli	Feb 16 – Mar 2	Mar 30 – Apr 20	May 29
Cucumber	Apr 15 – Apr 22	May 13 – May 27	Jul 2
Summer squash and zucchini	Apr 15 – Apr 22	May 13 – May 27	Jun 27
Winter squash	Apr 15 – Apr 22	May 13 – May 27	Aug 1
Sweet corn	—	May 6 – May 27	Jul 5
Onion (from sets)	—	Mar 30 – Apr 20	Jun 28
Garlic	—	Oct 2 – Oct 30 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Mar 23 – Apr 20	Apr 30
Basil	Apr 1 – Apr 15	May 13 – May 27	Jul 9

Plan all 65 crops for Centerville (near Ottumwa)

Centerville (near Ottumwa)'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
1893	Apr 27
1899	Apr 16
1900	Apr 13
1902	Apr 13
1912	Apr 19
1913	Apr 27
1914	Apr 20
1915	Apr 12
1916	Apr 8
1917	May 5
1918	Apr 21
1919	Apr 26
1920	Apr 15
1921	Apr 18
1922	Apr 29
1923	May 9
1924	May 1
1925	May 25
1926	May 2
1927	May 12
1928	Apr 27
1929	May 5
1930	Apr 25
1931	May 7
1932	Apr 28
1933	Apr 27
1934	Apr 27
1935	May 4
1936	Apr 22
1937	Apr 11
1938	Apr 22
1939	Apr 18
1940	May 2
1941	Mar 29
1942	Apr 11
1943	Apr 20
1944	May 5
1945	Apr 18
1946	May 11
1947	May 29
1948	Apr 14
1949	Apr 19
1950	May 1
1951	Apr 23
1952	Apr 16
1953	Apr 27
1954	May 7
1955	Apr 7
1956	Apr 24
1957	May 4
1958	Apr 29
1959	Apr 22
1960	Apr 30
1961	May 2
1962	Apr 16
1963	Apr 24
1965	Apr 19
1966	May 10
1967	May 2
1968	Apr 25
1969	Mar 31
1970	May 2
1972	Apr 25
1973	Apr 13
1974	Apr 15
1975	Apr 12
1976	May 4
1977	Apr 6
1978	Apr 13
1979	Apr 28
1980	May 9
1981	Apr 15
1982	Apr 21
1983	Apr 20
1984	May 8
1985	Apr 9
1986	Apr 22
1988	Apr 25
1989	May 7
1990	Apr 18
1991	Apr 10
1992	Apr 22
1993	Apr 22
1994	Apr 29
1995	Apr 5
1996	Apr 30
1997	Apr 17
2000	Apr 13
2005	May 4
2013	May 13
2014	May 18
2015	Apr 27
2016	Apr 13
2017	May 4
2018	Apr 29
2019	May 14
2020	May 11
2021	May 14
2022	Apr 27
2023	May 4
2024	Apr 22

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1899	165
1913	138
1914	188
1915	175
1916	162
1917	152
1918	186
1919	166
1920	168
1921	172
1922	165
1923	163
1924	151
1925	136
1926	145
1927	154
1928	151
1929	170
1930	174
1931	177
1932	165
1933	177
1934	183
1935	152
1936	182
1937	167
1938	183
1939	164
1940	146
1941	212
1942	165
1943	177
1944	157
1945	173
1946	184
1947	161
1948	185
1949	162
1950	155
1951	157
1952	172
1953	182
1954	163
1955	190
1956	197
1957	167
1958	154
1959	169
1960	171
1961	148
1962	190
1965	163
1966	148
1967	149
1968	175
1969	199
1972	172
1973	203
1975	171
1976	154
1977	189
1978	177
1979	159
1980	148
1981	186
1982	181
1983	153
1984	143
1985	174
1986	174
1988	162
1989	139
1990	183
1991	161
1992	177
1993	170
1994	178
1995	169
1996	183
1997	187
2005	174
2013	162
2014	145
2015	171
2016	182
2017	177
2018	168
2019	150
2020	143
2021	160
2022	154

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1893	19.3 °C
1898	19.5 °C
1899	19.6 °C
1911	21.2 °C
1912	19.7 °C
1913	20.6 °C
1914	20.9 °C
1915	18.3 °C
1916	19.0 °C
1917	17.8 °C
1918	19.7 °C
1919	20.1 °C
1920	18.7 °C
1921	20.8 °C
1922	19.8 °C
1923	19.0 °C
1924	18.1 °C
1925	20.0 °C
1926	18.5 °C
1927	18.5 °C
1928	18.2 °C
1929	19.0 °C
1930	19.7 °C
1931	20.4 °C
1932	19.8 °C
1933	20.4 °C
1934	21.8 °C
1935	18.5 °C
1936	21.7 °C
1937	19.9 °C
1938	19.8 °C
1939	20.2 °C
1940	19.1 °C
1941	20.9 °C
1942	19.6 °C
1943	19.2 °C
1944	19.2 °C
1945	18.4 °C
1946	19.2 °C
1947	19.4 °C
1948	20.2 °C
1949	19.5 °C
1950	17.7 °C
1951	18.0 °C
1952	19.5 °C
1953	20.1 °C
1954	20.5 °C
1955	20.9 °C
1956	19.7 °C
1957	19.3 °C
1958	19.0 °C
1959	19.7 °C
1960	18.9 °C
1961	18.3 °C
1962	19.4 °C
1963	20.2 °C
1965	19.1 °C
1966	17.8 °C
1967	18.2 °C
1968	19.2 °C
1969	19.6 °C
1972	19.4 °C
1973	19.4 °C
1974	18.9 °C
1975	19.2 °C
1976	19.3 °C
1977	21.3 °C
1978	19.6 °C
1979	18.4 °C
1981	19.3 °C
1982	18.3 °C
1983	19.8 °C
1984	18.8 °C
1986	20.1 °C
1987	20.6 °C
1988	21.0 °C
1989	18.4 °C
1990	19.1 °C
1991	20.7 °C
1992	18.0 °C
1993	18.3 °C
2013	18.9 °C
2014	18.0 °C
2015	19.1 °C
2016	19.4 °C
2017	18.8 °C
2018	19.4 °C
2019	18.9 °C
2020	18.2 °C
2021	18.6 °C
2022	18.7 °C
2023	18.6 °C
2024	19.1 °C

What this means for you: Since 1893, Centerville (near Ottumwa)'s last spring frost has stayed at about the same time of year. Year-to-year swings are large, so keep using the safe date rather than the trend.

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

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