When to plant in Forest City, IA

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

Safe to plant out

May 10

1 year in 10 has a later frost

Average last frost

Apr 26

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Oct 6

1 year in 10 by Sep 20

Frost-free days

157

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Forest City 2 Nne · 2.5 km away · station 390 m, town 383 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 15 – Mar 29	May 10 – May 24	Jul 4
Sweet pepper	Mar 1 – Mar 15	May 10 – May 24	Jul 9
Lettuce (leaf)	Mar 3 – Mar 10	Apr 7 – Apr 21	May 17
Peas	—	Apr 7 – May 5	Jun 1
Bush beans	—	May 3 – May 24	Jun 22
Carrot	—	Apr 17 – May 29	Jun 16
Beet	—	Apr 17 – May 29	Jun 6
Potato	—	Apr 17 – May 8	Jun 26
Kale	Mar 3 – Mar 17	Apr 14 – Apr 28	May 27
Broccoli	Feb 24 – Mar 10	Apr 7 – Apr 28	Jun 6
Cucumber	Apr 12 – Apr 19	May 10 – May 24	Jun 29
Summer squash and zucchini	Apr 12 – Apr 19	May 10 – May 24	Jun 24
Winter squash	Apr 12 – Apr 19	May 10 – May 24	Jul 29
Sweet corn	—	May 3 – May 24	Jul 2
Onion (from sets)	—	Apr 7 – Apr 28	Jul 6
Garlic	—	Sep 22 – Oct 20 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Apr 7 – May 5	May 15
Basil	Mar 29 – Apr 12	May 10 – May 24	Jul 6

Plan all 65 crops for Forest City

Forest City'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
1896	Apr 21
1897	May 31
1898	Apr 26
1899	May 13
1900	May 3
1901	May 12
1902	Apr 26
1903	May 3
1904	May 10
1905	Apr 30
1906	May 8
1907	May 27
1908	May 3
1909	May 10
1910	May 4
1911	May 3
1912	Apr 28
1913	Apr 27
1914	Apr 21
1915	May 9
1916	May 2
1917	May 7
1918	May 13
1919	May 2
1920	Apr 28
1921	May 16
1922	Apr 20
1923	May 9
1924	May 24
1925	May 17
1926	May 3
1927	Apr 24
1928	Apr 28
1929	May 19
1930	May 17
1931	May 22
1932	Apr 27
1933	Apr 27
1934	Apr 27
1935	May 3
1936	Apr 23
1937	May 14
1938	May 9
1939	Apr 21
1940	May 3
1941	Apr 24
1942	Apr 20
1943	May 7
1944	May 7
1945	May 10
1946	May 12
1947	May 29
1948	Apr 14
1950	May 7
1951	Apr 23
1953	May 13
1954	May 8
1955	May 8
1956	May 16
1957	May 4
1958	Apr 29
1959	Apr 21
1960	May 11
1961	May 3
1962	Apr 20
1963	May 23
1964	Apr 15
1965	Apr 28
1966	May 14
1967	May 6
1969	May 11
1970	May 2
1972	Apr 25
1973	May 16
1974	May 6
1975	Apr 30
1976	May 7
1977	Apr 8
1978	May 1
1979	May 12
1980	May 9
1981	May 10
1982	Apr 22
1985	Apr 9
1986	Apr 22
1987	Apr 21
1988	Apr 26
1989	May 7
1990	May 2
1991	Apr 21
1992	Apr 27
1993	Apr 26
1994	May 1
1995	Apr 27
1996	May 2
1997	May 15
1998	Apr 20
1999	Apr 19
2000	Apr 23
2001	Apr 19
2005	May 3
2006	Apr 9
2007	Apr 15
2009	Apr 20
2010	Apr 10
2011	May 4
2012	Apr 17
2014	May 1
2015	Apr 24
2016	May 15
2017	Apr 29
2020	May 12
2021	May 12
2022	Apr 28

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1896	150
1897	130
1898	162
1899	138
1900	157
1901	128
1902	138
1903	147
1904	148
1905	163
1906	150
1908	147
1909	154
1910	170
1911	157
1912	150
1913	147
1914	177
1915	148
1916	135
1917	142
1918	129
1919	160
1920	155
1921	140
1922	171
1923	157
1924	128
1925	142
1926	144
1927	148
1928	147
1929	121
1930	132
1931	159
1932	160
1933	167
1934	152
1935	146
1936	161
1937	134
1938	166
1939	161
1940	164
1941	157
1942	152
1943	132
1944	154
1945	141
1947	115
1950	138
1951	154
1953	145
1954	136
1955	159
1956	136
1957	158
1958	154
1959	170
1960	160
1961	147
1962	185
1963	157
1964	172
1965	150
1966	139
1967	156
1969	155
1970	153
1972	157
1973	152
1974	138
1975	146
1976	151
1977	180
1978	159
1979	145
1982	151
1985	174
1986	166
1987	163
1988	160
1989	138
1990	159
1991	150
1992	147
1993	153
1994	175
1995	147
1996	153
1997	151
1998	175
2001	169
2005	157
2006	185
2007	152
2009	170
2010	175
2011	133
2014	162
2015	174
2016	150
2017	180
2021	162
2022	152

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1894	18.3 °C
1896	17.3 °C
1897	16.7 °C
1898	17.1 °C
1899	17.3 °C
1900	18.2 °C
1901	18.4 °C
1902	16.3 °C
1903	16.3 °C
1904	15.8 °C
1905	16.9 °C
1906	17.9 °C
1908	17.2 °C
1909	16.3 °C
1910	17.2 °C
1911	17.7 °C
1912	16.9 °C
1913	17.8 °C
1914	18.1 °C
1915	16.2 °C
1916	17.1 °C
1917	15.3 °C
1918	16.3 °C
1919	17.4 °C
1920	16.9 °C
1922	18.1 °C
1923	17.3 °C
1924	15.4 °C
1925	18.0 °C
1926	17.1 °C
1927	16.4 °C
1929	16.4 °C
1930	17.9 °C
1931	18.5 °C
1932	17.8 °C
1933	18.8 °C
1934	18.8 °C
1935	16.9 °C
1936	18.9 °C
1937	18.1 °C
1938	17.7 °C
1939	18.3 °C
1940	17.5 °C
1941	19.1 °C
1942	17.0 °C
1943	16.8 °C
1944	17.5 °C
1945	16.0 °C
1947	17.5 °C
1948	18.3 °C
1950	15.3 °C
1951	15.3 °C
1953	17.1 °C
1954	17.6 °C
1955	19.5 °C
1956	17.2 °C
1957	17.4 °C
1958	17.3 °C
1959	18.3 °C
1960	17.6 °C
1961	16.4 °C
1962	17.0 °C
1963	17.7 °C
1964	17.9 °C
1965	16.7 °C
1966	16.3 °C
1967	16.3 °C
1969	16.7 °C
1970	16.8 °C
1972	17.1 °C
1973	17.4 °C
1974	16.9 °C
1975	17.3 °C
1976	18.1 °C
1977	19.3 °C
1978	17.9 °C
1979	16.5 °C
1981	17.2 °C
1982	16.8 °C
1985	17.0 °C
1986	17.4 °C
1987	18.6 °C
1988	18.9 °C
1989	17.1 °C
1990	17.0 °C
1991	17.9 °C
1992	15.6 °C
1995	17.6 °C
1998	18.4 °C
1999	17.4 °C
2001	17.4 °C
2003	17.7 °C
2005	18.5 °C
2006	18.1 °C
2008	16.4 °C
2009	16.0 °C
2010	17.9 °C
2011	16.6 °C
2014	16.5 °C
2015	17.4 °C
2016	17.3 °C
2017	16.4 °C
2021	17.5 °C
2022	16.4 °C
2023	17.9 °C

What this means for you: Since 1896, Forest City's last spring frost has come about 1 day earlier per decade, on average. 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 Forest City 2 Nne (NOAA GHCN-Daily). Years with too many missing days are left out.

Nearby towns

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