When to plant in Greenfield, IA

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

Safe to plant out

May 5

1 year in 10 has a later frost

Average last frost

Apr 23

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Oct 13

1 year in 10 by Oct 2

Frost-free days

171

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Greenfield · 1.8 km away · station 401 m, town 418 m. How we match towns to stations

This season

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Planting dates for common crops

Crop	Start indoors	Plant out or sow	Harvest from
Tomato	Mar 10 – Mar 24	May 5 – May 19	Jun 29
Sweet pepper	Feb 24 – Mar 10	May 5 – May 19	Jul 4
Lettuce (leaf)	Feb 19 – Feb 26	Mar 26 – Apr 9	May 5
Peas	—	Mar 25 – Apr 22	May 19
Bush beans	—	Apr 28 – May 19	Jun 17
Carrot	—	Apr 3 – May 15	Jun 2
Beet	—	Apr 3 – May 15	May 23
Potato	—	Apr 3 – Apr 24	Jun 12
Kale	Feb 18 – Mar 4	Apr 1 – Apr 15	May 14
Broccoli	Feb 12 – Feb 26	Mar 26 – Apr 16	May 25
Cucumber	Apr 7 – Apr 14	May 5 – May 19	Jun 24
Summer squash and zucchini	Apr 7 – Apr 14	May 5 – May 19	Jun 19
Winter squash	Apr 7 – Apr 14	May 5 – May 19	Jul 24
Sweet corn	—	Apr 28 – May 19	Jun 27
Onion (from sets)	—	Mar 26 – Apr 16	Jun 24
Garlic	—	Sep 29 – Oct 27 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Mar 25 – Apr 22	May 2
Basil	Mar 24 – Apr 7	May 5 – May 19	Jul 1

Plan all 65 crops for Greenfield

Greenfield'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 3
1895	May 12
1896	Apr 6
1897	Apr 19
1898	Apr 26
1899	Apr 21
1900	May 3
1901	Apr 22
1902	Apr 24
1903	May 3
1904	Apr 21
1905	May 5
1906	May 9
1910	May 13
1911	May 2
1912	May 14
1913	Apr 27
1914	Apr 20
1915	Apr 12
1917	May 7
1918	Apr 30
1919	Apr 25
1920	Apr 28
1921	May 3
1922	Apr 19
1939	Apr 21
1940	May 3
1941	Apr 21
1942	May 4
1943	Apr 20
1944	May 6
1945	May 10
1946	May 12
1947	May 29
1948	Apr 14
1949	Apr 19
1950	May 1
1951	Apr 23
1952	Apr 16
1953	May 13
1954	May 8
1959	May 15
1960	May 1
1961	May 2
1963	May 22
1964	Apr 9
1965	Apr 28
1966	May 10
1967	May 4
1968	Apr 25
1969	Apr 29
1970	May 2
1971	May 2
1972	Apr 25
1973	Apr 28
1974	Apr 15
1975	Apr 20
1976	May 3
1977	Apr 6
1978	Apr 21
1979	May 12
1980	May 8
1981	May 10
1982	Apr 22
1983	Apr 19
1984	Apr 30
1985	Apr 9
1986	Apr 28
1987	Apr 4
1988	Apr 28
1989	May 6
1990	May 2
1991	Apr 10
1992	Apr 26
1993	Apr 20
1994	Apr 30
1995	Apr 27
1996	Apr 27
1997	May 13
1998	Apr 17
1999	Apr 18
2000	Apr 12
2001	Apr 24
2002	Apr 25
2003	Apr 9
2004	May 3
2005	May 3
2006	Apr 9
2007	Apr 15
2008	Apr 29
2009	Apr 21
2010	Apr 9
2011	May 3
2012	Apr 12
2013	May 4
2014	May 16
2015	Apr 23
2016	Apr 12
2017	Apr 11
2018	Apr 20
2019	Apr 28
2020	May 11
2021	Apr 23
2022	Apr 27
2024	Apr 21
2025	Apr 16

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1893	144
1895	140
1896	183
1897	172
1898	161
1899	160
1900	181
1901	148
1902	172
1903	165
1904	183
1905	157
1906	152
1910	161
1911	170
1912	134
1913	147
1914	187
1915	175
1921	157
1939	161
1940	164
1941	188
1942	142
1943	177
1944	156
1945	141
1946	152
1947	161
1948	185
1949	162
1950	154
1952	171
1953	166
1954	171
1959	148
1960	170
1961	148
1963	159
1964	182
1965	148
1966	143
1967	146
1968	161
1969	167
1970	160
1971	181
1972	164
1973	183
1974	159
1975	164
1976	155
1977	188
1978	168
1979	153
1980	147
1981	129
1982	180
1983	154
1984	148
1985	174
1986	167
1987	181
1988	158
1989	149
1990	160
1991	161
1992	172
1993	171
1994	177
1995	147
1996	185
1997	153
1998	201
1999	168
2000	175
2001	164
2002	164
2003	175
2004	151
2005	156
2006	185
2007	192
2008	171
2009	171
2010	202
2011	168
2012	175
2013	167
2014	140
2015	188
2016	183
2017	198
2018	177
2019	166
2020	143
2021	181
2022	163
2024	175
2025	189

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1893	18.4 °C
1894	20.4 °C
1895	19.5 °C
1896	19.1 °C
1897	19.1 °C
1898	19.0 °C
1899	18.6 °C
1900	19.9 °C
1901	19.9 °C
1903	17.3 °C
1904	17.4 °C
1905	18.9 °C
1906	19.5 °C
1907	16.7 °C
1910	18.0 °C
1911	19.7 °C
1912	18.4 °C
1913	20.0 °C
1914	19.8 °C
1915	17.7 °C
1917	16.7 °C
1921	20.5 °C
1922	18.8 °C
1939	19.7 °C
1940	18.8 °C
1941	20.1 °C
1942	18.5 °C
1943	18.4 °C
1944	18.4 °C
1945	17.4 °C
1946	18.4 °C
1947	18.9 °C
1948	19.4 °C
1949	18.7 °C
1950	16.6 °C
1951	17.1 °C
1952	19.0 °C
1953	18.8 °C
1954	19.6 °C
1959	18.9 °C
1960	19.0 °C
1961	17.3 °C
1963	19.8 °C
1964	19.1 °C
1965	18.6 °C
1966	17.7 °C
1967	17.9 °C
1968	18.9 °C
1969	19.1 °C
1970	19.8 °C
1971	19.2 °C
1972	18.9 °C
1973	18.9 °C
1974	19.1 °C
1975	19.2 °C
1976	19.4 °C
1977	21.2 °C
1978	19.7 °C
1979	18.8 °C
1980	20.3 °C
1981	19.0 °C
1982	18.5 °C
1984	18.9 °C
1985	19.4 °C
1986	20.0 °C
1987	20.2 °C
1988	20.9 °C
1989	18.9 °C
1990	19.0 °C
1991	19.8 °C
1992	17.5 °C
1993	17.8 °C
1994	19.0 °C
1995	18.7 °C
1996	18.1 °C
1997	18.7 °C
1998	20.2 °C
1999	19.2 °C
2000	20.2 °C
2001	19.9 °C
2002	19.8 °C
2003	19.1 °C
2004	19.0 °C
2005	20.1 °C
2006	19.8 °C
2007	19.9 °C
2008	18.4 °C
2009	17.7 °C
2010	19.4 °C
2011	18.5 °C
2012	20.4 °C
2013	18.3 °C
2014	18.1 °C
2015	18.8 °C
2016	19.2 °C
2017	19.0 °C
2018	18.9 °C
2019	18.3 °C
2020	18.3 °C
2021	18.7 °C
2022	18.8 °C
2024	19.1 °C
2025	19.0 °C

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

Nearby towns

Stuart Creston Earlham Winterset Guthrie Center Corning