When to plant in Glidden, IA

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

Safe to plant out
May 12
1 year in 10 has a later frost
Average last frost
Apr 29
about a 50% chance of a later one
Average first fall frost
Oct 4
1 year in 10 by Sep 20
Frost-free days
158
median, 1991–2020

Station used: Carroll · 10.0 km away · station 378 m, town 377 m. How we match towns to stations

This season

Plan your garden.

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Planting dates for common crops

CropStart indoorsPlant out or sowHarvest from
Tomato Mar 17 – Mar 31 May 12 – May 26 Jul 6
Sweet pepper Mar 3 – Mar 17 May 12 – May 26 Jul 11
Lettuce (leaf) Feb 25 – Mar 4 Apr 1 – Apr 15 May 11
Peas — Apr 1 – Apr 29 May 26
Bush beans — May 5 – May 26 Jun 24
Carrot — Apr 11 – May 23 Jun 10
Beet — Apr 11 – May 23 May 31
Potato — Apr 11 – May 2 Jun 20
Kale Feb 25 – Mar 11 Apr 8 – Apr 22 May 21
Broccoli Feb 18 – Mar 4 Apr 1 – Apr 22 May 31
Cucumber Apr 14 – Apr 21 May 12 – May 26 Jul 1
Summer squash and zucchini Apr 14 – Apr 21 May 12 – May 26 Jun 26
Winter squash Apr 14 – Apr 21 May 12 – May 26 Jul 31
Sweet corn — May 5 – May 26 Jul 4
Onion (from sets) — Apr 1 – Apr 22 Jun 30
Garlic — Sep 20 – Oct 18 (fall) following summer
Spinach — Apr 1 – Apr 29 May 9
Basil Mar 31 – Apr 14 May 12 – May 26 Jul 8

Plan all 65 crops for Glidden

Glidden's weather over time

How the growing season has shifted here, year by year, from the station's own records.

Apr 15May 1May 15Jun 1 1900191019201930194019501960197019801990200020102020
Each year's last spring frostLong-term trend
See the data as a table
YearLast spring frost
1893May 3
1894May 28
1895May 19
1896Apr 9
1897May 31
1898Apr 29
1899May 13
1901May 12
1902Apr 23
1903May 30
1904May 14
1906May 9
1907May 27
1908May 9
1909May 10
1910May 12
1911May 1
1912May 14
1913Apr 29
1914Apr 21
1915May 18
1916May 18
1917May 7
1918May 13
1919Apr 26
1920Apr 28
1921May 4
1922Apr 19
1923May 9
1924May 24
1925May 25
1926May 14
1927Apr 24
1928Apr 27
1929May 16
1930May 17
1931May 21
1932Apr 27
1933Apr 27
1934Apr 27
1935May 5
1936Apr 22
1937May 14
1938May 8
1939May 13
1940May 2
1941Apr 24
1942May 4
1943Apr 28
1944May 6
1945May 10
1946May 12
1947May 29
1948Apr 13
1949Apr 24
1950May 1
1951Apr 26
1952May 29
1953May 13
1954May 20
1955Apr 7
1956May 4
1957May 6
1958May 8
1959May 15
1960May 12
1961May 2
1962Apr 19
1963May 23
1964Apr 10
1965Apr 28
1966May 10
1967May 9
1968May 10
1969May 12
1970May 2
1971May 28
1972Apr 25
1973Apr 28
1975May 1
1976May 8
1978May 6
1979May 12
1980May 9
1981May 11
1982Apr 27
1983May 15
1984May 9
1985Apr 9
1986Apr 22
1987Apr 6
1988Apr 24
1989May 7
1990May 2
1991May 7
1992May 5
1993Apr 26
1994May 1
1995May 2
1996Apr 27
1997May 13
1998Apr 18
1999Apr 19
2000Apr 20
2001Apr 24
2002May 1
2003Apr 23
2004May 15
2005May 4
2006Apr 26
2007Apr 14
2008Apr 30
2009Apr 16
2010May 9
2011May 4
2012Apr 13
2013May 12
2014May 17
2015Apr 23
2016Apr 13
2017Apr 28
2018Apr 21
2019Apr 28
2020May 9
2021Apr 23
2022Apr 27
2023Apr 25
2024Apr 22
2025Apr 9
2026May 2

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

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