When to plant in Elkader, IA

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

Safe to plant out

May 21

1 year in 10 has a later frost

Average last frost

May 8

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Oct 2

1 year in 10 by Sep 20

Frost-free days

143

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Elkader 6 Ssw · 9.6 km away · station 240 m, town 223 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 26 – Apr 9	May 21 – Jun 4	Jul 15
Sweet pepper	Mar 12 – Mar 26	May 21 – Jun 4	Jul 20
Lettuce (leaf)	Mar 6 – Mar 13	Apr 10 – Apr 24	May 20
Peas	—	Apr 6 – May 4	May 31
Bush beans	—	May 14 – Jun 4	Jul 3
Carrot	—	Apr 17 – May 29	Jun 16
Beet	—	Apr 15 – May 27	Jun 4
Potato	—	Apr 17 – May 8	Jun 26
Kale	Mar 2 – Mar 16	Apr 13 – Apr 27	May 26
Broccoli	Feb 27 – Mar 13	Apr 10 – May 1	Jun 9
Cucumber	Apr 23 – Apr 30	May 21 – Jun 4	Jul 10
Summer squash and zucchini	Apr 23 – Apr 30	May 21 – Jun 4	Jul 5
Winter squash	Apr 23 – Apr 30	May 21 – Jun 4	Aug 9
Sweet corn	—	May 14 – Jun 4	Jul 13
Onion (from sets)	—	Apr 10 – May 1	Jul 9
Garlic	—	Sep 18 – Oct 16 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Apr 6 – May 4	May 14
Basil	Apr 9 – Apr 23	May 21 – Jun 4	Jul 17

Plan all 65 crops for Elkader

Elkader'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	May 6
1894	May 20
1895	May 27
1896	Apr 22
1897	Jun 1
1898	Apr 26
1899	Apr 19
1900	May 5
1901	Apr 21
1902	Apr 24
1903	May 3
1904	May 15
1905	Apr 22
1906	May 28
1907	May 27
1908	May 9
1909	May 11
1910	May 13
1911	May 5
1912	May 14
1913	May 11
1914	May 17
1915	May 17
1916	May 18
1917	May 24
1918	May 13
1935	May 4
1936	Apr 26
1937	Apr 22
1938	May 12
1939	Apr 22
1940	May 4
1941	Apr 24
1942	May 16
1943	May 14
1944	May 6
1945	Jun 4
1946	May 13
1947	May 30
1948	Apr 21
1949	Apr 24
1950	May 2
1951	May 11
1952	May 29
1953	May 14
1954	May 20
1955	May 8
1956	May 16
1957	May 5
1959	Apr 22
1961	May 26
1962	Apr 20
1963	May 23
1964	Apr 25
1969	May 12
1970	May 2
1971	May 13
1972	Apr 26
1973	May 17
1974	May 25
1975	May 16
1976	May 18
1977	May 10
1978	May 6
1979	May 25
1980	May 14
1981	May 20
1982	Apr 29
1983	May 26
1984	May 30
1985	May 2
1986	May 3
1987	May 5
1988	Apr 30
1989	May 11
1990	May 11
1991	May 7
1992	May 27
1993	May 21
1994	May 6
1995	May 1
1996	May 13
1997	May 21
1998	Apr 28
1999	Apr 25
2000	May 15
2001	Apr 24
2002	May 21
2003	Apr 23
2005	May 16
2006	May 22
2007	Apr 19
2011	May 16
2012	Apr 27
2013	May 14
2014	May 17
2015	May 1
2016	May 18
2017	May 4
2018	Apr 30
2019	Apr 29
2020	May 13
2021	May 29
2022	May 23
2023	May 26
2024	Apr 25
2025	Apr 20
2026	May 11

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1893	114
1894	120
1895	125
1896	150
1897	110
1898	137
1899	159
1900	155
1901	165
1902	140
1903	137
1904	122
1905	172
1906	125
1907	120
1908	142
1909	137
1910	162
1911	155
1912	134
1913	133
1914	160
1915	104
1916	120
1917	109
1935	145
1936	158
1937	150
1938	161
1939	160
1940	144
1941	157
1942	130
1944	155
1945	116
1946	111
1947	118
1948	158
1949	152
1950	144
1951	139
1952	114
1954	124
1955	125
1956	126
1957	144
1959	172
1961	124
1962	160
1963	112
1964	140
1969	154
1970	154
1971	146
1972	156
1973	123
1974	100
1975	119
1976	114
1977	145
1978	144
1979	119
1980	125
1981	130
1982	144
1983	110
1984	107
1985	144
1986	155
1987	150
1988	155
1989	134
1990	135
1991	135
1992	118
1993	131
1994	156
1995	143
1996	142
1997	145
1998	167
1999	148
2000	133
2006	142
2011	121
2012	148
2013	151
2014	118
2015	165
2016	142
2017	164
2018	151
2019	165
2020	141
2021	140
2022	127
2023	135
2024	164
2025	171

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1893	17.1 °C
1894	19.0 °C
1895	18.8 °C
1896	18.1 °C
1897	17.5 °C
1898	18.1 °C
1899	18.3 °C
1900	19.2 °C
1901	20.0 °C
1902	17.4 °C
1903	17.3 °C
1904	17.0 °C
1905	18.2 °C
1906	18.6 °C
1907	16.1 °C
1908	18.1 °C
1909	17.2 °C
1910	18.0 °C
1911	18.6 °C
1912	17.3 °C
1913	17.7 °C
1914	18.5 °C
1915	16.8 °C
1916	17.5 °C
1917	15.6 °C
1918	16.9 °C
1919	18.3 °C
1935	17.1 °C
1936	18.8 °C
1937	17.7 °C
1938	17.4 °C
1939	18.6 °C
1940	17.5 °C
1941	19.2 °C
1942	17.6 °C
1943	16.6 °C
1944	17.8 °C
1945	16.1 °C
1946	16.4 °C
1947	17.0 °C
1948	17.8 °C
1949	17.8 °C
1950	15.2 °C
1951	15.7 °C
1952	17.5 °C
1953	17.1 °C
1954	17.9 °C
1955	19.7 °C
1956	17.5 °C
1957	17.6 °C
1959	18.5 °C
1960	17.6 °C
1961	16.5 °C
1962	17.2 °C
1963	17.7 °C
1964	17.8 °C
1969	17.7 °C
1970	18.3 °C
1971	17.6 °C
1972	17.6 °C
1973	17.2 °C
1974	16.4 °C
1975	16.3 °C
1976	16.9 °C
1977	18.4 °C
1978	17.4 °C
1979	16.5 °C
1980	17.6 °C
1981	17.1 °C
1983	16.9 °C
1984	16.6 °C
1985	17.2 °C
1987	19.2 °C
1988	19.3 °C
1989	16.7 °C
1990	17.5 °C
1991	18.4 °C
1992	15.8 °C
1993	16.3 °C
1994	16.7 °C
1996	16.2 °C
1997	15.8 °C
1998	18.5 °C
1999	17.7 °C
2002	17.0 °C
2003	17.2 °C
2004	16.8 °C
2006	17.5 °C
2008	16.4 °C
2009	15.2 °C
2010	17.7 °C
2012	17.2 °C
2013	16.1 °C
2014	15.8 °C
2015	16.6 °C
2016	16.8 °C
2017	16.7 °C
2018	17.1 °C
2019	17.1 °C
2020	16.5 °C
2021	17.4 °C
2022	16.5 °C
2023	17.2 °C
2024	17.0 °C
2025	17.6 °C

What this means for you: Since 1893, Elkader'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 Elkader 6 Ssw (NOAA GHCN-Daily). Years with too many missing days are left out.

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