When to plant in Hull, IA

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

Safe to plant out

May 14

1 year in 10 has a later frost

Average last frost

May 1

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Sep 30

1 year in 10 by Sep 15

Frost-free days

152

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Sioux Ctr 2 Se · 14.8 km away · station 414 m, town 439 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 19 – Apr 2	May 14 – May 28	Jul 8
Sweet pepper	Mar 5 – Mar 19	May 14 – May 28	Jul 13
Lettuce (leaf)	Feb 27 – Mar 6	Apr 3 – Apr 17	May 13
Peas	—	Mar 31 – Apr 28	May 25
Bush beans	—	May 7 – May 28	Jun 26
Carrot	—	Apr 10 – May 22	Jun 9
Beet	—	Apr 9 – May 21	May 29
Potato	—	Apr 10 – May 1	Jun 19
Kale	Feb 24 – Mar 10	Apr 7 – Apr 21	May 20
Broccoli	Feb 20 – Mar 6	Apr 3 – Apr 24	Jun 2
Cucumber	Apr 16 – Apr 23	May 14 – May 28	Jul 3
Summer squash and zucchini	Apr 16 – Apr 23	May 14 – May 28	Jun 28
Winter squash	Apr 16 – Apr 23	May 14 – May 28	Aug 2
Sweet corn	—	May 7 – May 28	Jul 6
Onion (from sets)	—	Apr 3 – Apr 24	Jul 2
Garlic	—	Sep 16 – Oct 14 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Mar 31 – Apr 28	May 8
Basil	Apr 2 – Apr 16	May 14 – May 28	Jul 10

Plan all 65 crops for Hull

Hull'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
1900	May 3
1901	May 25
1902	Apr 26
1903	May 3
1904	May 14
1905	May 8
1906	May 8
1907	May 27
1908	May 7
1909	May 10
1910	May 13
1911	May 3
1912	Apr 27
1913	Apr 27
1914	Apr 20
1915	May 18
1916	May 19
1917	May 4
1919	Apr 26
1920	Apr 28
1923	May 13
1924	May 24
1925	May 25
1926	May 3
1927	May 5
1928	May 1
1929	May 16
1930	May 17
1931	May 22
1932	May 1
1933	Apr 27
1934	Apr 27
1935	May 5
1936	Apr 22
1937	May 14
1938	May 8
1954	May 9
1956	Apr 30
1957	May 4
1959	May 15
1960	May 11
1961	May 9
1962	Apr 19
1963	May 22
1964	Apr 22
1965	May 28
1966	May 11
1967	May 9
1968	May 18
1969	May 12
1970	May 2
1971	May 12
1972	Apr 25
1973	May 17
1974	May 6
1976	May 8
1977	Apr 6
1978	May 3
1979	May 4
1980	May 9
1981	May 11
1982	Apr 27
1983	May 15
1984	May 1
1985	Apr 10
1986	Apr 22
1987	Apr 23
1988	Apr 27
1989	May 7
1990	May 2
1991	May 7
1992	May 6
1993	Apr 26
1994	May 1
1995	May 2
1996	May 1
1997	May 15
1998	Apr 19
1999	Apr 19
2000	Apr 21
2001	Apr 24
2002	May 10
2003	Apr 22
2004	May 14
2005	May 15
2006	Apr 9
2007	Apr 15
2008	Apr 29
2009	Apr 28
2010	May 9
2011	May 3
2012	Apr 23
2013	May 12
2014	May 16
2015	Apr 22
2016	May 14
2017	May 1
2018	Apr 20
2019	Apr 28
2020	May 9
2021	May 11
2022	May 4
2023	May 3
2024	Apr 21
2025	Apr 19
2026	May 6

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1900	136
1901	114
1902	138
1903	135
1904	144
1905	156
1906	145
1907	133
1908	143
1909	153
1910	136
1911	168
1912	151
1913	147
1914	187
1915	139
1916	118
1917	156
1919	166
1920	153
1924	126
1925	133
1926	144
1927	137
1928	144
1929	124
1930	132
1931	159
1932	161
1933	163
1934	146
1935	144
1936	167
1937	150
1938	133
1956	152
1957	167
1959	145
1960	157
1961	141
1962	153
1963	158
1964	157
1965	118
1966	142
1967	141
1968	138
1969	133
1970	159
1971	129
1972	157
1974	119
1976	142
1977	179
1978	156
1979	157
1980	146
1981	143
1982	162
1983	128
1984	147
1985	168
1986	166
1987	162
1988	159
1989	138
1990	143
1991	134
1992	144
1993	141
1994	176
1995	142
1996	154
1997	151
1998	164
1999	154
2000	152
2001	153
2002	136
2003	155
2004	140
2005	136
2006	163
2007	152
2008	169
2009	161
2010	146
2011	134
2012	152
2013	153
2014	119
2015	176
2016	151
2017	162
2018	166
2020	145
2021	163
2022	146
2023	159
2024	175
2025	185

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1900	19.1 °C
1902	16.5 °C
1903	16.1 °C
1904	16.0 °C
1905	16.7 °C
1906	17.1 °C
1907	15.2 °C
1908	17.1 °C
1909	16.6 °C
1910	17.1 °C
1911	18.2 °C
1912	17.1 °C
1913	18.0 °C
1914	18.1 °C
1915	16.3 °C
1917	16.3 °C
1919	17.9 °C
1920	16.5 °C
1926	17.8 °C
1928	16.3 °C
1929	17.0 °C
1930	18.4 °C
1931	19.4 °C
1932	18.1 °C
1933	18.1 °C
1934	18.9 °C
1935	17.2 °C
1936	19.8 °C
1937	18.4 °C
1938	18.7 °C
1954	18.3 °C
1956	18.7 °C
1957	17.6 °C
1958	18.0 °C
1959	18.5 °C
1960	17.6 °C
1961	16.7 °C
1962	17.5 °C
1963	19.0 °C
1964	17.9 °C
1965	16.9 °C
1966	16.8 °C
1967	16.8 °C
1968	17.6 °C
1969	17.6 °C
1970	18.7 °C
1971	18.0 °C
1972	17.5 °C
1973	18.0 °C
1974	17.4 °C
1976	19.0 °C
1977	19.5 °C
1978	18.3 °C
1979	17.4 °C
1980	18.8 °C
1981	18.7 °C
1982	17.5 °C
1983	18.0 °C
1984	17.3 °C
1985	18.0 °C
1986	18.4 °C
1987	19.4 °C
1988	20.0 °C
1989	18.2 °C
1990	18.3 °C
1991	19.1 °C
1992	16.5 °C
1993	16.6 °C
1994	18.3 °C
1995	17.6 °C
1996	17.0 °C
1997	17.5 °C
1998	19.1 °C
1999	18.4 °C
2000	18.8 °C
2001	18.8 °C
2002	19.1 °C
2003	18.2 °C
2004	18.0 °C
2005	19.6 °C
2006	19.2 °C
2007	19.6 °C
2008	17.8 °C
2009	17.2 °C
2010	19.2 °C
2011	18.3 °C
2012	20.4 °C
2013	18.0 °C
2014	17.7 °C
2015	18.8 °C
2016	19.2 °C
2017	18.6 °C
2018	18.3 °C
2020	18.6 °C
2021	19.1 °C
2022	18.9 °C
2023	19.3 °C
2024	19.1 °C
2025	19.2 °C
2026	19.1 °C

What this means for you: Since 1900, Hull'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 Sioux Ctr 2 Se (NOAA GHCN-Daily). Years with too many missing days are left out.

Nearby towns

Sioux Center Rock Valley George Orange City Sheldon Alton