When to plant in Le Mars, IA

Planting dates worked out from Le Mars'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 27

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Oct 4

1 year in 10 by Sep 20

Frost-free days

160

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Le Mars · 1.3 km away · station 396 m, town 376 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 17 – Mar 31	May 12 – May 26	Jul 6
Sweet pepper	Mar 3 – Mar 17	May 12 – May 26	Jul 11
Lettuce (leaf)	Feb 27 – Mar 6	Apr 3 – Apr 17	May 13
Peas	—	Apr 3 – May 1	May 28
Bush beans	—	May 5 – May 26	Jun 24
Carrot	—	Apr 13 – May 25	Jun 12
Beet	—	Apr 13 – May 25	Jun 2
Potato	—	Apr 13 – May 4	Jun 22
Kale	Feb 27 – Mar 13	Apr 10 – Apr 24	May 23
Broccoli	Feb 20 – Mar 6	Apr 3 – Apr 24	Jun 2
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 3 – Apr 24	Jul 2
Garlic	—	Sep 20 – Oct 18 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Apr 3 – May 1	May 11
Basil	Mar 31 – Apr 14	May 12 – May 26	Jul 8

Plan all 65 crops for Le Mars

Le Mars'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 7
1897	May 31
1898	May 12
1899	May 13
1900	May 3
1901	May 25
1902	Apr 26
1903	May 3
1905	May 26
1906	May 9
1907	May 27
1908	May 9
1909	May 10
1910	May 13
1911	May 2
1912	Apr 27
1913	Apr 27
1914	Apr 20
1915	May 18
1916	May 3
1917	May 13
1918	Apr 30
1920	Apr 29
1921	May 14
1922	Apr 20
1923	May 12
1924	May 24
1925	May 25
1926	May 14
1927	Apr 24
1928	May 12
1929	May 16
1930	May 17
1931	May 22
1932	Apr 27
1933	Apr 27
1934	Apr 27
1935	May 3
1936	May 3
1937	May 14
1938	May 8
1939	Apr 21
1940	May 1
1941	Apr 24
1942	May 15
1943	May 8
1944	May 6
1945	May 16
1946	May 12
1947	May 29
1948	Apr 12
1949	Apr 24
1950	Apr 28
1951	Apr 23
1952	Apr 24
1953	May 13
1954	May 7
1955	Apr 7
1956	May 4
1957	May 11
1958	May 8
1959	May 15
1960	May 12
1961	May 9
1962	May 2
1963	May 23
1964	Apr 22
1965	Apr 28
1966	May 10
1967	May 9
1968	May 17
1969	May 12
1970	May 2
1971	May 12
1972	Apr 25
1973	May 17
1974	Apr 23
1975	Apr 20
1976	May 7
1977	Apr 6
1978	May 3
1979	May 4
1980	May 9
1981	May 11
1982	Apr 27
1983	May 15
1984	May 9
1985	Apr 10
1986	Apr 22
1987	Apr 23
1988	Apr 28
1989	May 6
1990	May 2
1991	Apr 11
1992	Apr 28
1993	Apr 22
1994	May 1
1995	May 2
1996	Apr 30
1997	May 14
1998	Apr 15
1999	Apr 18
2000	Apr 16
2001	Apr 23
2002	May 2
2003	Apr 12
2004	May 14
2005	May 4
2006	Apr 9
2007	Apr 16
2008	Apr 29
2009	Apr 28
2010	Apr 17
2011	May 4
2012	Apr 24
2013	May 12
2014	May 16
2015	Apr 23
2016	Apr 13
2017	May 2
2018	Apr 28
2019	Apr 29
2020	May 8
2021	May 11
2022	Apr 27
2023	May 3
2024	Apr 21
2025	Apr 20
2026	May 6

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1896	164
1897	109
1898	146
1899	134
1900	136
1901	114
1902	138
1903	135
1905	137
1906	143
1907	120
1908	141
1909	153
1910	161
1911	158
1912	151
1913	147
1914	177
1915	139
1916	134
1917	147
1918	140
1921	142
1922	171
1923	153
1924	126
1925	134
1926	133
1927	165
1928	133
1929	124
1930	152
1931	147
1932	154
1933	163
1934	141
1935	146
1936	156
1937	124
1938	134
1939	160
1940	146
1941	185
1942	131
1943	134
1944	155
1945	135
1946	139
1947	115
1948	184
1949	157
1950	157
1951	157
1952	162
1953	143
1954	137
1955	156
1956	148
1957	151
1958	141
1959	137
1960	156
1961	128
1962	140
1963	157
1964	165
1965	148
1966	127
1967	137
1968	138
1969	148
1970	159
1971	127
1972	157
1974	151
1975	157
1976	151
1977	179
1978	156
1979	161
1980	146
1981	143
1982	171
1983	128
1984	139
1985	168
1986	166
1987	162
1988	158
1989	139
1990	160
1991	160
1992	170
1993	145
1994	176
1995	141
1996	146
1997	151
1998	167
1999	155
2000	160
2001	164
2002	157
2003	171
2004	140
2005	148
2006	163
2007	192
2008	169
2009	161
2010	182
2011	133
2012	151
2013	153
2014	140
2015	175
2016	182
2017	161
2018	158
2019	163
2020	146
2021	163
2022	162
2023	156
2024	175
2025	184

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1896	19.0 °C
1897	18.0 °C
1898	17.9 °C
1899	17.8 °C
1900	18.9 °C
1901	18.9 °C
1902	16.7 °C
1903	16.6 °C
1905	17.3 °C
1906	17.6 °C
1907	15.8 °C
1908	17.7 °C
1909	16.8 °C
1910	17.1 °C
1911	18.3 °C
1912	17.1 °C
1913	18.4 °C
1914	18.8 °C
1915	16.5 °C
1916	17.6 °C
1917	16.4 °C
1918	17.9 °C
1920	17.3 °C
1921	19.4 °C
1922	18.7 °C
1923	17.8 °C
1924	16.2 °C
1925	19.1 °C
1926	18.4 °C
1927	17.3 °C
1928	17.1 °C
1929	17.6 °C
1930	18.8 °C
1931	20.1 °C
1932	19.2 °C
1933	19.9 °C
1934	20.0 °C
1935	17.9 °C
1936	20.3 °C
1937	19.2 °C
1938	18.9 °C
1939	19.5 °C
1940	18.5 °C
1941	19.8 °C
1942	18.5 °C
1943	18.1 °C
1944	18.1 °C
1945	16.3 °C
1946	18.3 °C
1947	18.2 °C
1948	19.1 °C
1949	18.8 °C
1950	16.9 °C
1951	17.1 °C
1952	18.9 °C
1953	18.3 °C
1954	18.7 °C
1955	20.9 °C
1956	19.0 °C
1957	18.1 °C
1958	18.2 °C
1959	19.0 °C
1960	17.7 °C
1961	17.0 °C
1962	17.6 °C
1963	19.3 °C
1964	18.7 °C
1965	17.7 °C
1966	17.4 °C
1967	17.1 °C
1968	18.0 °C
1969	18.1 °C
1970	19.0 °C
1971	18.2 °C
1972	18.1 °C
1973	19.2 °C
1974	18.9 °C
1975	18.9 °C
1976	20.3 °C
1977	20.5 °C
1978	19.6 °C
1979	19.0 °C
1980	20.4 °C
1981	19.9 °C
1982	18.7 °C
1983	19.3 °C
1984	18.1 °C
1985	18.5 °C
1986	18.9 °C
1987	19.9 °C
1988	20.5 °C
1990	17.8 °C
1991	18.6 °C
1992	15.8 °C
1993	16.3 °C
1994	17.7 °C
1995	17.2 °C
1996	16.3 °C
1997	16.9 °C
1998	18.9 °C
1999	17.8 °C
2000	18.4 °C
2001	18.2 °C
2002	18.6 °C
2003	17.6 °C
2004	17.2 °C
2005	18.9 °C
2006	18.4 °C
2007	18.6 °C
2008	16.9 °C
2010	18.6 °C
2011	17.8 °C
2012	20.0 °C
2013	17.3 °C
2014	17.4 °C
2015	18.3 °C
2016	18.6 °C
2017	17.9 °C
2018	17.8 °C
2019	17.6 °C
2020	18.3 °C
2021	18.8 °C
2022	18.4 °C
2023	19.1 °C
2024	18.6 °C
2025	18.7 °C
2026	19.0 °C

What this means for you: Since 1896, Le Mars'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 Le Mars (NOAA GHCN-Daily). Years with too many missing days are left out.

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