When to plant in Clinton, IA

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

Safe to plant out

Apr 24

1 year in 10 has a later frost

Average last frost

Apr 12

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Oct 21

1 year in 10 by Oct 4

Frost-free days

190

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Fulton L&d #13 · 6.6 km away · station 180 m, town 179 m. How we match towns to stations

This season

Plan your garden.

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Planting dates for common crops

Crop	Start indoors	Plant out or sow	Harvest from
Tomato	Mar 2 – Mar 16	Apr 27 – May 11	Jun 21
Sweet pepper	Feb 16 – Mar 2	Apr 27 – May 11	Jun 26
Lettuce (leaf)	Feb 24 – Mar 3	Mar 31 – Apr 14	May 10
Peas	—	Mar 31 – Apr 28	May 25
Bush beans	—	Apr 23 – May 14	Jun 12
Carrot	—	Apr 9 – May 21	Jun 8
Beet	—	Apr 9 – May 21	May 29
Potato	—	Apr 9 – Apr 30	Jun 18
Kale	Feb 24 – Mar 10	Apr 7 – Apr 21	May 20
Broccoli	Feb 17 – Mar 3	Mar 31 – Apr 21	May 30
Cucumber	Mar 30 – Apr 6	Apr 27 – May 11	Jun 16
Summer squash and zucchini	Mar 30 – Apr 6	Apr 27 – May 11	Jun 11
Winter squash	Mar 30 – Apr 6	Apr 27 – May 11	Jul 16
Sweet corn	—	Apr 23 – May 14	Jun 22
Onion (from sets)	—	Mar 31 – Apr 21	Jun 29
Garlic	—	Oct 7 – Nov 4 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Mar 31 – Apr 28	May 8
Basil	Mar 16 – Mar 30	Apr 27 – May 11	Jun 23

Plan all 65 crops for Clinton

Clinton'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
1938	Apr 10
1940	Apr 14
1941	Apr 2
1942	Apr 20
1943	Apr 21
1944	May 6
1945	Apr 5
1946	Apr 27
1947	Apr 16
1948	Apr 17
1949	Apr 16
1950	Apr 21
1951	Apr 21
1952	Apr 11
1953	Apr 20
1954	May 4
1955	Apr 7
1956	Apr 24
1957	Apr 15
1958	Apr 29
1959	Apr 22
1960	Apr 10
1961	Apr 17
1962	Apr 20
1963	Apr 12
1964	Apr 9
1965	Apr 3
1966	May 11
1967	Apr 24
1968	Apr 15
1969	Apr 6
1970	May 2
1971	Apr 7
1972	Apr 9
1973	Apr 13
1974	Apr 10
1975	Apr 14
1976	Apr 13
1977	Apr 29
1978	May 2
1979	Apr 11
1980	Apr 17
1981	Apr 22
1982	Apr 12
1983	Apr 20
1985	Apr 10
1988	Apr 21
1989	May 7
1990	Apr 19
1991	Apr 4
1992	Apr 13
1993	Apr 6
1994	Apr 8
1995	Apr 6
1996	Apr 14
1997	Apr 15
1998	Mar 24
1999	Apr 16
2000	Apr 26
2002	Apr 5
2003	Apr 11
2004	Apr 13
2005	May 5
2006	Apr 10
2007	Apr 16
2008	Apr 3
2009	Apr 13
2010	Mar 26
2011	Apr 6
2012	Apr 15
2013	Apr 22
2014	Apr 16
2015	Apr 24
2016	Apr 10
2017	Mar 30
2018	Apr 29
2019	Apr 1
2020	Apr 17
2021	Apr 3
2022	Apr 19
2023	Apr 7
2024	Apr 22
2025	Apr 9
2026	Apr 8

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1940	184
1941	208
1942	157
1943	177
1944	158
1945	187
1946	198
1947	205
1948	182
1949	191
1950	197
1951	190
1952	174
1953	197
1954	178
1955	194
1956	168
1957	187
1958	187
1959	172
1960	192
1961	167
1962	187
1963	203
1964	182
1965	208
1966	147
1967	170
1968	196
1969	191
1970	166
1971	207
1972	191
1973	205
1974	174
1975	194
1976	187
1977	166
1978	195
1979	185
1980	178
1981	179
1982	192
1983	191
1985	213
1988	167
1989	150
1990	174
1991	168
1992	186
1993	187
1994	204
1995	198
1996	187
1997	190
1998	224
1999	157
2002	209
2003	173
2004	174
2005	175
2007	199
2008	207
2009	179
2010	216
2011	205
2012	173
2013	182
2014	198
2015	176
2016	215
2017	213
2018	174
2019	212
2020	191
2021	213
2022	182
2023	205
2024	212
2025	196

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1940	18.3 °C
1941	19.6 °C
1942	18.6 °C
1943	17.9 °C
1944	19.0 °C
1945	17.6 °C
1946	18.5 °C
1947	18.4 °C
1948	19.2 °C
1949	19.1 °C
1950	17.1 °C
1951	17.7 °C
1952	19.2 °C
1953	19.1 °C
1954	19.4 °C
1955	20.4 °C
1956	18.8 °C
1957	18.6 °C
1958	18.2 °C
1959	19.6 °C
1960	18.7 °C
1961	17.7 °C
1962	18.6 °C
1963	19.0 °C
1964	19.3 °C
1965	18.5 °C
1966	18.1 °C
1967	17.8 °C
1968	18.8 °C
1969	19.0 °C
1970	19.7 °C
1971	19.1 °C
1972	18.8 °C
1973	18.6 °C
1974	17.6 °C
1975	17.8 °C
1976	18.2 °C
1977	19.3 °C
1978	18.6 °C
1979	17.8 °C
1980	19.0 °C
1981	18.4 °C
1982	17.8 °C
1983	18.9 °C
1985	18.9 °C
1988	19.9 °C
1989	17.9 °C
1990	18.5 °C
1992	16.9 °C
1993	17.7 °C
1994	18.3 °C
1995	18.5 °C
1996	17.4 °C
1997	17.8 °C
1998	18.5 °C
1999	16.0 °C
2003	18.3 °C
2004	18.6 °C
2005	19.6 °C
2006	18.7 °C
2007	19.2 °C
2008	18.2 °C
2009	17.7 °C
2010	19.8 °C
2011	18.5 °C
2012	19.5 °C
2013	18.3 °C
2014	18.2 °C
2015	18.9 °C
2016	19.6 °C
2017	18.8 °C
2018	19.2 °C
2019	19.0 °C
2020	18.8 °C
2021	19.6 °C
2022	18.9 °C
2023	19.5 °C
2024	19.9 °C
2025	20.0 °C
2026	20.3 °C

What this means for you: Since 1938, Clinton'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 Fulton L&d #13 (NOAA GHCN-Daily). Years with too many missing days are left out.

Nearby towns

Fulton, IL Camanche Morrison, IL Erie, IL Savanna, IL Prophetstown, IL