When to plant in Lenox, IA

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

Safe to plant out

May 6

1 year in 10 has a later frost

Average last frost

Apr 24

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Oct 7

1 year in 10 by Sep 21

Frost-free days

167

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Creston 2 Sw · 22.3 km away · station 395 m, town 395 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 11 – Mar 25	May 6 – May 20	Jun 30
Sweet pepper	Feb 25 – Mar 11	May 6 – May 20	Jul 5
Lettuce (leaf)	Feb 20 – Feb 27	Mar 27 – Apr 10	May 6
Peas	—	Mar 27 – Apr 24	May 21
Bush beans	—	Apr 29 – May 20	Jun 18
Carrot	—	Apr 6 – May 18	Jun 5
Beet	—	Apr 6 – May 18	May 26
Potato	—	Apr 6 – Apr 27	Jun 15
Kale	Feb 20 – Mar 6	Apr 3 – Apr 17	May 16
Broccoli	Feb 13 – Feb 27	Mar 27 – Apr 17	May 26
Cucumber	Apr 8 – Apr 15	May 6 – May 20	Jun 25
Summer squash and zucchini	Apr 8 – Apr 15	May 6 – May 20	Jun 20
Winter squash	Apr 8 – Apr 15	May 6 – May 20	Jul 25
Sweet corn	—	Apr 29 – May 20	Jun 28
Onion (from sets)	—	Mar 27 – Apr 17	Jun 25
Garlic	—	Sep 23 – Oct 21 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Mar 27 – Apr 24	May 4
Basil	Mar 25 – Apr 8	May 6 – May 20	Jul 2

Plan all 65 crops for Lenox

Lenox'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
1906	May 9
1907	May 27
1908	May 3
1909	May 11
1910	May 13
1911	May 2
1912	Apr 18
1913	Apr 28
1914	Apr 21
1915	May 17
1916	May 18
1917	May 8
1918	May 1
1921	May 3
1922	Apr 19
1923	May 9
1925	May 25
1926	Apr 28
1927	Apr 24
1928	Apr 28
1929	May 16
1930	Apr 22
1931	May 21
1932	Apr 27
1933	Apr 27
1934	Apr 27
1935	May 4
1936	Apr 22
1937	Apr 26
1938	Apr 22
1939	Apr 19
1940	May 2
1941	Mar 29
1942	May 4
1943	Apr 20
1944	May 6
1945	May 10
1946	May 12
1947	May 29
1948	Apr 14
1950	May 1
1951	Apr 23
1952	May 11
1953	May 13
1954	May 9
1955	Apr 8
1956	Apr 30
1957	Apr 15
1958	Apr 29
1959	May 15
1960	May 1
1961	May 2
1963	May 22
1964	Apr 29
1965	Apr 28
1966	May 10
1967	May 3
1968	Apr 25
1969	Apr 6
1970	May 2
1971	May 2
1972	Apr 24
1976	May 3
1977	Apr 6
1978	May 2
1979	May 1
1980	May 8
1981	May 11
1982	Apr 21
1983	Apr 19
1984	Apr 23
1985	Apr 9
1986	Apr 22
1987	Apr 12
1988	Apr 27
1989	May 6
1990	Apr 30
1991	Apr 10
1992	Apr 27
1993	Apr 21
1994	Apr 29
1995	Apr 27
1996	Apr 23
1997	May 13
1998	Apr 18
1999	Apr 18
2000	Apr 13
2001	Apr 25
2002	Apr 22
2003	Apr 11
2004	May 3
2006	Apr 9
2008	Apr 30
2011	May 5
2012	Apr 12
2013	May 3
2014	May 16

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1906	149
1907	120
1908	147
1909	153
1910	161
1911	170
1912	160
1913	146
1914	186
1915	140
1916	133
1917	150
1918	141
1921	157
1922	175
1923	162
1925	134
1926	149
1927	172
1928	149
1929	159
1930	177
1931	166
1932	161
1933	173
1934	152
1935	152
1936	182
1937	170
1938	179
1939	163
1940	187
1941	211
1942	142
1943	177
1944	156
1945	141
1946	152
1947	161
1948	185
1951	157
1953	146
1954	161
1955	189
1956	152
1957	185
1958	154
1959	146
1960	170
1961	148
1963	159
1964	158
1965	148
1966	143
1967	147
1968	161
1969	190
1970	160
1971	160
1972	158
1977	188
1978	157
1979	156
1980	146
1981	143
1982	181
1983	154
1984	155
1985	174
1986	174
1987	173
1988	159
1989	153
1990	162
1991	161
1992	166
1993	160
1994	178
1995	147
1996	169
1998	200
1999	155
2000	175
2002	167
2003	170
2011	165
2012	176
2013	167

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1905	17.8 °C
1906	18.6 °C
1907	16.1 °C
1908	18.1 °C
1909	17.7 °C
1910	18.4 °C
1911	19.6 °C
1912	17.8 °C
1913	19.1 °C
1914	19.1 °C
1915	16.7 °C
1916	17.6 °C
1917	16.6 °C
1918	19.0 °C
1920	17.6 °C
1921	20.2 °C
1922	19.1 °C
1925	19.7 °C
1926	18.6 °C
1927	18.2 °C
1928	17.7 °C
1929	18.1 °C
1930	19.5 °C
1931	19.7 °C
1932	18.9 °C
1933	19.5 °C
1934	21.1 °C
1935	17.9 °C
1936	21.1 °C
1937	19.4 °C
1938	19.6 °C
1939	19.8 °C
1940	18.4 °C
1941	19.9 °C
1942	18.7 °C
1943	18.0 °C
1944	18.3 °C
1945	17.4 °C
1946	18.2 °C
1947	19.1 °C
1948	19.6 °C
1949	18.7 °C
1950	16.8 °C
1951	17.4 °C
1953	18.9 °C
1954	20.0 °C
1955	20.8 °C
1956	19.4 °C
1957	19.1 °C
1958	18.2 °C
1959	18.7 °C
1960	18.6 °C
1961	17.4 °C
1962	18.9 °C
1963	19.2 °C
1964	18.6 °C
1965	18.4 °C
1966	17.6 °C
1967	17.6 °C
1968	18.5 °C
1969	18.9 °C
1970	19.4 °C
1971	18.9 °C
1972	18.5 °C
1975	19.1 °C
1976	19.2 °C
1977	20.7 °C
1978	18.9 °C
1979	18.2 °C
1980	19.5 °C
1981	19.2 °C
1983	20.6 °C
1984	18.3 °C
1985	18.7 °C
1986	19.4 °C
1987	20.0 °C
1988	20.9 °C
1989	18.7 °C
1990	18.8 °C
1991	19.5 °C
1992	17.7 °C
1993	17.7 °C
1994	18.8 °C
1995	18.6 °C
1996	18.1 °C
1999	18.4 °C
2000	19.0 °C
2002	18.9 °C
2003	18.3 °C
2004	17.9 °C
2005	19.6 °C
2011	18.5 °C
2012	19.9 °C
2013	18.1 °C
2014	17.9 °C

What this means for you: Since 1906, Lenox'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 Creston 2 Sw (NOAA GHCN-Daily). Years with too many missing days are left out.

Nearby towns

Corning Creston Bedford Mount Ayr Villisca Clarinda