When to plant in Dubuque, IA

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

Safe to plant out

Apr 30

1 year in 10 has a later frost

Average last frost

Apr 14

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Oct 22

1 year in 10 by Oct 10

Frost-free days

190

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Dubuque L&d 11 · 4.6 km away · station 189 m, town 189 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 5 – Mar 19	Apr 30 – May 14	Jun 24
Sweet pepper	Feb 19 – Mar 5	Apr 30 – May 14	Jun 29
Lettuce (leaf)	Feb 25 – Mar 4	Apr 1 – Apr 15	May 11
Peas	—	Apr 1 – Apr 29	May 26
Bush beans	—	Apr 23 – May 14	Jun 12
Carrot	—	Apr 10 – May 22	Jun 9
Beet	—	Apr 10 – May 22	May 30
Potato	—	Apr 10 – May 1	Jun 19
Kale	Feb 25 – Mar 11	Apr 8 – Apr 22	May 21
Broccoli	Feb 18 – Mar 4	Apr 1 – Apr 22	May 31
Cucumber	Apr 2 – Apr 9	Apr 30 – May 14	Jun 19
Summer squash and zucchini	Apr 2 – Apr 9	Apr 30 – May 14	Jun 14
Winter squash	Apr 2 – Apr 9	Apr 30 – May 14	Jul 19
Sweet corn	—	Apr 23 – May 14	Jun 22
Onion (from sets)	—	Apr 1 – Apr 22	Jun 30
Garlic	—	Oct 7 – Nov 4 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Apr 1 – Apr 29	May 9
Basil	Mar 19 – Apr 2	Apr 30 – May 14	Jun 26

Plan all 65 crops for Dubuque

Dubuque'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
1941	Apr 2
1942	Apr 11
1943	Apr 15
1944	Apr 17
1945	Apr 19
1946	Apr 27
1947	May 29
1948	Apr 9
1949	Apr 24
1950	May 1
1951	Apr 23
1952	Apr 14
1953	Apr 27
1954	May 7
1955	Apr 7
1956	Apr 30
1957	Apr 15
1958	Apr 29
1959	Apr 21
1960	Apr 18
1961	Apr 29
1962	Apr 20
1963	Apr 10
1964	Apr 9
1965	Apr 16
1966	May 9
1967	Apr 24
1968	Apr 25
1969	Apr 1
1970	Apr 6
1971	Apr 7
1972	Apr 25
1973	Apr 13
1974	Apr 9
1975	Apr 13
1976	Apr 27
1978	May 1
1979	Apr 10
1980	May 14
1981	Apr 21
1982	Apr 21
1983	Apr 20
1984	Apr 1
1985	Apr 9
1986	Apr 23
1987	Apr 4
1988	Apr 14
1989	May 6
1990	Apr 18
1991	Mar 30
1992	Apr 2
1993	Apr 17
1994	Apr 8
1995	Apr 11
1996	Apr 10
1997	Apr 18
1998	Mar 25
1999	Mar 28
2000	Apr 13
2001	Apr 18
2002	Apr 7
2003	Apr 11
2004	Apr 15
2005	May 4
2006	May 12
2007	Apr 16
2008	Apr 15
2010	Apr 1
2011	Apr 6
2012	Apr 12
2013	Apr 21
2014	Apr 16
2015	Apr 5
2016	Apr 13
2017	Apr 28
2018	Apr 21
2019	Apr 29
2020	May 10
2021	Apr 23
2022	Apr 27
2023	Apr 25
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
1941	208
1942	166
1943	184
1944	200
1945	178
1946	198
1947	162
1948	190
1949	157
1950	155
1951	190
1952	173
1953	191
1954	164
1955	209
1956	142
1957	192
1958	190
1959	173
1960	184
1961	155
1962	186
1963	205
1964	183
1965	206
1966	160
1967	168
1968	182
1969	204
1970	221
1971	210
1972	175
1973	205
1974	175
1975	213
1976	163
1978	183
1979	186
1980	165
1981	180
1982	182
1983	175
1984	210
1985	209
1986	192
1987	189
1988	193
1989	140
1990	183
1991	202
1992	188
1993	194
1994	215
1995	205
1996	191
1997	186
1998	223
1999	209
2000	176
2001	181
2002	194
2003	173
2004	184
2005	162
2006	152
2007	204
2010	210
2011	211
2012	181
2013	183
2014	198
2015	194
2016	212
2017	183
2018	173
2019	165
2020	162
2021	191
2022	169
2023	187
2024	204
2025	213

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1941	20.3 °C
1942	18.7 °C
1943	18.3 °C
1944	18.9 °C
1945	17.3 °C
1946	18.3 °C
1947	18.0 °C
1948	18.7 °C
1949	17.9 °C
1950	15.9 °C
1951	16.1 °C
1952	18.8 °C
1953	18.1 °C
1954	18.5 °C
1955	20.2 °C
1956	18.2 °C
1957	18.2 °C
1958	18.0 °C
1959	19.3 °C
1960	18.5 °C
1961	17.5 °C
1962	17.8 °C
1963	19.0 °C
1964	19.3 °C
1965	18.5 °C
1966	17.6 °C
1967	17.1 °C
1968	18.5 °C
1969	18.8 °C
1970	19.4 °C
1971	19.0 °C
1972	18.5 °C
1973	18.8 °C
1974	18.0 °C
1975	18.4 °C
1976	18.5 °C
1978	18.9 °C
1979	17.2 °C
1980	19.1 °C
1981	18.3 °C
1982	18.2 °C
1984	19.0 °C
1985	19.6 °C
1986	19.5 °C
1987	20.6 °C
1988	21.1 °C
1989	18.9 °C
1990	19.1 °C
1991	20.6 °C
1992	17.9 °C
1993	18.2 °C
1994	18.4 °C
1995	18.6 °C
1996	17.8 °C
1997	17.4 °C
1998	19.5 °C
1999	19.0 °C
2000	18.6 °C
2001	19.5 °C
2002	18.8 °C
2003	18.4 °C
2004	18.3 °C
2005	20.0 °C
2006	19.1 °C
2007	19.6 °C
2010	19.9 °C
2011	18.8 °C
2012	19.8 °C
2013	18.3 °C
2014	17.8 °C
2015	18.8 °C
2016	18.8 °C
2017	18.2 °C
2018	18.8 °C
2019	18.1 °C
2020	18.0 °C
2021	19.2 °C
2022	18.3 °C
2023	19.0 °C
2024	19.3 °C
2025	19.4 °C
2026	19.7 °C

What this means for you: Since 1941, Dubuque's last spring frost has stayed at about the same time of year. The frost-free season has grown by about 1 days per decade. Year-to-year swings are large, so keep using the safe date rather than the trend.

Source: daily records from Dubuque L&d 11 (NOAA GHCN-Daily). Years with too many missing days are left out.

Nearby towns

East Dubuque, IL Asbury Dickeyville, WI Peosta Hazel Green, WI Galena, IL