When to plant in De Soto, IA

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

Safe to plant out

May 7

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 2

1 year in 10 by Sep 20

Frost-free days

154

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Winterset 4n · 14.4 km away · station 297 m, town 287 m. How we match towns to stations

This season

Plan your garden.

Build my De Soto plan

Planting dates for common crops

Crop	Start indoors	Plant out or sow	Harvest from
Tomato	Mar 12 – Mar 26	May 7 – May 21	Jul 1
Sweet pepper	Feb 26 – Mar 12	May 7 – May 21	Jul 6
Lettuce (leaf)	Feb 23 – Mar 2	Mar 30 – Apr 13	May 9
Peas	—	Mar 28 – Apr 25	May 22
Bush beans	—	Apr 30 – May 21	Jun 19
Carrot	—	Apr 6 – May 18	Jun 5
Beet	—	Apr 6 – May 18	May 26
Potato	—	Apr 6 – Apr 27	Jun 15
Kale	Feb 21 – Mar 7	Apr 4 – Apr 18	May 17
Broccoli	Feb 16 – Mar 2	Mar 30 – Apr 20	May 29
Cucumber	Apr 9 – Apr 16	May 7 – May 21	Jun 26
Summer squash and zucchini	Apr 9 – Apr 16	May 7 – May 21	Jun 21
Winter squash	Apr 9 – Apr 16	May 7 – May 21	Jul 26
Sweet corn	—	Apr 30 – May 21	Jun 29
Onion (from sets)	—	Mar 30 – Apr 20	Jun 28
Garlic	—	Sep 18 – Oct 16 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Mar 28 – Apr 25	May 5
Basil	Mar 26 – Apr 9	May 7 – May 21	Jul 3

Plan all 65 crops for De Soto

De Soto'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 23
1894	Apr 20
1895	May 21
1896	Apr 19
1897	Apr 20
1898	Apr 26
1899	Apr 16
1900	Apr 13
1901	Apr 20
1902	Apr 23
1905	Apr 18
1906	May 6
1907	May 4
1908	May 2
1909	May 10
1910	Apr 24
1911	May 2
1912	Apr 19
1913	Apr 28
1914	Apr 20
1915	Apr 12
1916	Apr 9
1918	Apr 21
1919	Apr 26
1920	Apr 28
1921	May 3
1922	Apr 29
1923	May 9
1924	Apr 22
1925	May 25
1926	Apr 28
1927	Apr 24
1928	Apr 27
1929	May 16
1930	Apr 24
1931	May 21
1932	Apr 27
1933	Apr 27
1934	Apr 27
1935	May 4
1936	Apr 24
1937	Apr 16
1938	Apr 22
1939	Apr 19
1940	May 1
1941	Apr 24
1942	May 4
1943	Apr 20
1944	May 6
1945	May 11
1948	Apr 14
1949	Apr 19
1950	May 1
1951	Apr 23
1952	Apr 15
1954	May 20
1955	May 8
1956	May 16
1957	May 6
1958	May 5
1959	May 15
1960	May 1
1961	May 2
1962	Apr 19
1963	May 23
1964	Apr 10
1965	Apr 28
1966	May 10
1967	May 7
1968	May 5
1969	May 12
1970	May 2
1971	May 3
1972	Apr 25
1973	May 15
1974	Apr 25
1975	Apr 20
1976	May 8
1977	May 10
1978	May 3
1979	May 12
1980	May 14
1981	May 12
1983	Apr 20
1986	Apr 22
1987	Apr 7
1988	Apr 24
1989	May 7
1990	Apr 30
1991	Apr 24
1992	May 6
1993	Apr 21
1994	May 1
1995	Apr 27
1996	Apr 30
1997	May 13
1998	Apr 18
1999	Apr 18
2001	Apr 25
2002	May 3
2003	Apr 10
2004	May 4
2005	May 4
2006	May 7
2007	Apr 15
2008	Apr 30
2009	Apr 16
2010	Apr 19
2011	May 4
2012	Apr 21
2013	May 12
2023	May 4
2024	Apr 22
2026	May 3

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1894	171
1895	130
1896	152
1897	152
1898	162
1899	165
1900	177
1901	150
1902	173
1905	176
1906	155
1907	160
1908	148
1909	154
1910	180
1911	171
1912	159
1913	146
1914	187
1915	175
1916	172
1918	151
1919	167
1920	154
1921	153
1922	165
1923	163
1924	160
1925	134
1926	149
1927	191
1928	150
1929	124
1930	175
1931	166
1932	165
1933	167
1934	183
1935	152
1936	180
1937	180
1938	183
1939	163
1940	188
1941	185
1942	142
1943	178
1944	156
1945	140
1948	185
1949	162
1950	145
1951	157
1952	173
1954	124
1955	126
1956	126
1957	156
1958	148
1959	146
1960	158
1961	148
1962	153
1963	157
1964	170
1965	148
1966	147
1967	143
1968	151
1969	154
1970	154
1972	157
1973	167
1974	149
1975	157
1976	150
1977	154
1978	157
1979	132
1980	131
1981	142
1986	166
1987	178
1988	162
1989	138
1990	162
1991	147
1992	145
1993	160
1994	163
1996	155
1997	153
1998	186
1999	155
2001	152
2002	143
2003	171
2004	150
2005	147
2006	135
2007	152
2008	168
2009	176
2010	166
2011	167
2012	154
2013	153
2023	158

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1893	18.6 °C
1894	20.4 °C
1895	19.4 °C
1896	18.5 °C
1897	18.3 °C
1898	18.5 °C
1899	19.1 °C
1900	20.1 °C
1902	17.9 °C
1905	18.5 °C
1906	19.7 °C
1907	17.6 °C
1908	19.2 °C
1909	18.8 °C
1910	19.0 °C
1911	20.7 °C
1912	19.0 °C
1913	20.2 °C
1914	20.4 °C
1915	17.9 °C
1916	19.3 °C
1917	17.6 °C
1918	19.6 °C
1919	19.4 °C
1920	18.1 °C
1921	20.8 °C
1922	19.6 °C
1923	19.0 °C
1924	17.6 °C
1925	20.0 °C
1926	19.0 °C
1927	18.5 °C
1928	18.2 °C
1929	18.5 °C
1930	19.9 °C
1931	20.3 °C
1932	19.8 °C
1933	20.4 °C
1934	22.2 °C
1935	18.6 °C
1936	21.6 °C
1937	19.9 °C
1938	20.2 °C
1939	20.6 °C
1940	19.2 °C
1941	20.5 °C
1942	19.3 °C
1943	18.9 °C
1944	19.1 °C
1945	17.2 °C
1948	20.1 °C
1949	19.6 °C
1950	17.7 °C
1951	17.9 °C
1952	19.6 °C
1954	19.6 °C
1955	20.4 °C
1956	19.2 °C
1957	18.6 °C
1958	18.3 °C
1959	18.9 °C
1960	18.6 °C
1961	17.1 °C
1962	18.5 °C
1963	19.2 °C
1964	18.9 °C
1965	18.3 °C
1966	17.4 °C
1967	17.4 °C
1968	18.3 °C
1969	18.4 °C
1970	18.9 °C
1972	18.4 °C
1973	18.4 °C
1974	17.3 °C
1975	17.7 °C
1976	17.5 °C
1977	19.5 °C
1978	18.7 °C
1979	17.9 °C
1980	19.3 °C
1981	19.0 °C
1986	20.0 °C
1987	20.0 °C
1988	20.7 °C
1989	18.6 °C
1990	19.1 °C
1991	19.7 °C
1992	17.2 °C
1993	17.7 °C
1994	18.6 °C
1996	17.7 °C
1997	17.7 °C
1998	19.1 °C
1999	18.1 °C
2000	19.2 °C
2001	18.6 °C
2002	18.3 °C
2003	17.9 °C
2004	17.3 °C
2005	19.1 °C
2006	18.5 °C
2007	18.6 °C
2008	17.0 °C
2009	16.7 °C
2010	18.8 °C
2011	18.0 °C
2012	19.4 °C
2013	17.4 °C
2016	18.8 °C
2023	19.3 °C

What this means for you: Since 1893, De Soto'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 Winterset 4n (NOAA GHCN-Daily). Years with too many missing days are left out.

Nearby towns

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