When to plant in Lake Park, IA

Planting dates worked out from Lake Park'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 7

1 year in 10 by Sep 22

Frost-free days

166

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Lake Park 3sse · 5.9 km away · station 443 m, town 454 m. How we match towns to stations

This season

Plan your garden.

Build my Lake Park plan

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 5 – Mar 12	Apr 9 – Apr 23	May 19
Peas	—	Apr 9 – May 7	Jun 3
Bush beans	—	May 3 – May 24	Jun 22
Carrot	—	Apr 19 – May 31	Jun 18
Beet	—	Apr 19 – May 31	Jun 8
Potato	—	Apr 19 – May 10	Jun 28
Kale	Mar 5 – Mar 19	Apr 16 – Apr 30	May 29
Broccoli	Feb 26 – Mar 12	Apr 9 – Apr 30	Jun 8
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 9 – Apr 30	Jul 8
Garlic	—	Sep 23 – Oct 21 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Apr 9 – May 7	May 17
Basil	Mar 29 – Apr 12	May 10 – May 24	Jul 6

Plan all 65 crops for Lake Park

Lake Park'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
1913	May 2
1914	May 12
1915	May 18
1916	May 3
1917	May 22
1918	May 12
1928	May 11
1929	May 16
1930	May 17
1931	May 22
1932	Apr 27
1933	Apr 27
1934	Apr 27
1935	May 3
1936	Apr 29
1937	May 14
1938	May 12
1939	Apr 21
1940	May 3
1941	Apr 24
1942	May 3
1943	May 13
1944	May 6
1945	May 16
1946	May 12
1947	May 29
1948	Apr 13
1949	Apr 24
1950	May 7
1951	Apr 23
1952	Apr 24
1953	May 13
1956	May 4
1957	May 4
1958	Apr 29
1959	Apr 25
1960	May 8
1961	May 2
1962	Apr 19
1963	May 22
1964	Apr 18
1965	May 28
1966	May 10
1967	May 13
1968	May 10
1969	Apr 29
1970	May 2
1973	May 17
1974	May 6
1975	Apr 20
1976	May 6
1977	Apr 8
1978	May 2
1979	May 5
1980	May 8
1981	Apr 20
1983	May 15
1984	May 8
1985	Apr 10
1986	May 3
1987	Apr 6
1988	Apr 28
1989	May 7
1990	May 3
1991	May 7
1992	Apr 29
1993	Apr 27
1994	May 1
1995	May 2
1996	May 1
1997	May 16
1998	Mar 25
1999	Apr 18
2000	Apr 22
2001	Apr 19
2002	May 3
2003	Apr 10
2004	May 15
2005	May 5
2006	Apr 9
2007	Apr 15
2008	Apr 30
2009	Apr 15
2010	May 9
2011	May 4
2012	Apr 13
2013	May 4
2014	May 16
2015	Apr 23
2016	Apr 13
2017	May 2
2018	Apr 22
2019	Apr 27
2020	Apr 22
2021	May 11
2022	Apr 27
2023	May 3
2024	Apr 25
2025	Apr 27
2026	May 11

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1913	142
1914	152
1915	139
1916	134
1917	136
1918	128
1929	124
1932	159
1933	167
1934	146
1935	146
1936	160
1937	146
1938	163
1939	156
1940	131
1941	156
1942	143
1943	154
1944	155
1945	134
1946	151
1947	115
1948	186
1950	148
1951	157
1952	151
1953	146
1956	148
1957	158
1958	154
1959	165
1960	163
1961	148
1962	186
1963	159
1964	173
1965	120
1966	143
1967	136
1968	146
1969	147
1970	159
1973	164
1974	139
1975	163
1976	144
1977	177
1978	158
1979	156
1980	147
1981	164
1983	130
1984	140
1985	173
1986	155
1987	179
1988	158
1989	138
1990	159
1991	134
1992	151
1993	154
1994	176
1995	142
1996	154
1997	156
1998	201
1999	166
2000	152
2001	169
2002	143
2003	173
2004	139
2005	154
2006	185
2007	152
2008	168
2009	176
2010	171
2011	167
2012	174
2013	166
2014	140
2015	175
2016	182
2017	160
2018	164
2019	166
2021	171
2022	163
2023	156
2024	164
2025	177

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1913	17.2 °C
1914	17.9 °C
1915	16.4 °C
1916	17.4 °C
1917	16.1 °C
1918	16.9 °C
1928	16.1 °C
1929	16.3 °C
1931	18.5 °C
1932	17.5 °C
1933	18.1 °C
1934	18.1 °C
1935	16.6 °C
1936	18.7 °C
1937	17.7 °C
1938	17.6 °C
1939	18.1 °C
1940	17.2 °C
1941	18.6 °C
1942	16.9 °C
1943	16.6 °C
1944	16.9 °C
1945	15.2 °C
1946	16.5 °C
1947	16.3 °C
1948	17.6 °C
1949	17.6 °C
1951	15.3 °C
1952	17.1 °C
1956	17.4 °C
1957	17.1 °C
1958	17.7 °C
1959	18.4 °C
1960	17.4 °C
1961	16.6 °C
1962	17.4 °C
1963	18.9 °C
1964	18.0 °C
1965	16.7 °C
1966	16.4 °C
1967	15.9 °C
1968	16.9 °C
1969	17.1 °C
1970	18.1 °C
1973	16.6 °C
1974	16.4 °C
1975	16.3 °C
1976	17.6 °C
1977	18.4 °C
1978	17.2 °C
1979	15.8 °C
1980	17.6 °C
1981	17.0 °C
1982	16.4 °C
1983	17.2 °C
1984	16.5 °C
1985	16.6 °C
1986	17.0 °C
1987	18.2 °C
1988	18.3 °C
1989	16.7 °C
1990	16.7 °C
1991	17.5 °C
1992	14.8 °C
1993	15.1 °C
1994	17.2 °C
1995	16.1 °C
1996	15.2 °C
1997	16.0 °C
1998	18.2 °C
1999	17.4 °C
2000	17.0 °C
2001	17.4 °C
2002	16.8 °C
2003	16.5 °C
2004	16.0 °C
2005	17.6 °C
2006	19.1 °C
2007	19.3 °C
2008	18.1 °C
2009	17.7 °C
2010	19.6 °C
2011	18.7 °C
2012	20.4 °C
2013	18.3 °C
2014	18.0 °C
2015	19.0 °C
2016	18.9 °C
2017	18.6 °C
2018	18.1 °C
2020	18.6 °C
2021	18.9 °C
2022	18.7 °C
2023	17.0 °C
2024	16.9 °C
2025	16.9 °C
2026	17.1 °C

What this means for you: Since 1913, Lake Park'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 Lake Park 3sse (NOAA GHCN-Daily). Years with too many missing days are left out.

Nearby towns

Spirit Lake Arnolds Park Milford Lakefield, MN Worthington, MN Jackson, MN