When to plant in Maquoketa, IA

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

Safe to plant out

May 15

1 year in 10 has a later frost

Average last frost

Apr 30

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Oct 7

1 year in 10 by Sep 22

Frost-free days

158

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Maquoketa · 0.9 km away · station 204 m, town 214 m. How we match towns to stations

This season

Plan your garden.

Build my Maquoketa plan

Planting dates for common crops

Crop	Start indoors	Plant out or sow	Harvest from
Tomato	Mar 20 – Apr 3	May 15 – May 29	Jul 9
Sweet pepper	Mar 6 – Mar 20	May 15 – May 29	Jul 14
Lettuce (leaf)	Feb 27 – Mar 6	Apr 3 – Apr 17	May 13
Peas	—	Apr 3 – May 1	May 28
Bush beans	—	May 8 – May 29	Jun 27
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 17 – Apr 24	May 15 – May 29	Jul 4
Summer squash and zucchini	Apr 17 – Apr 24	May 15 – May 29	Jun 29
Winter squash	Apr 17 – Apr 24	May 15 – May 29	Aug 3
Sweet corn	—	May 8 – May 29	Jul 7
Onion (from sets)	—	Apr 3 – Apr 24	Jul 2
Garlic	—	Sep 23 – Oct 21 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Apr 3 – May 1	May 11
Basil	Apr 3 – Apr 17	May 15 – May 29	Jul 11

Plan all 65 crops for Maquoketa

Maquoketa'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
1897	Apr 20
1898	Apr 21
1899	Apr 19
1900	May 5
1901	May 26
1902	Apr 27
1903	May 3
1904	May 15
1905	Apr 23
1914	Apr 20
1915	Apr 13
1916	May 2
1917	May 23
1918	May 1
1919	Apr 26
1920	May 14
1926	May 15
1927	Apr 24
1930	May 17
1931	May 23
1932	May 2
1933	Apr 27
1934	Apr 28
1935	May 7
1936	Apr 23
1937	Apr 11
1938	Apr 10
1939	Apr 22
1940	Apr 21
1941	Apr 25
1944	May 6
1945	May 10
1946	Apr 27
1948	Apr 17
1950	May 1
1951	Apr 23
1952	Apr 15
1953	Apr 21
1954	May 9
1955	May 8
1956	Apr 30
1958	Apr 1
1959	Apr 22
1960	May 12
1961	May 4
1962	Apr 20
1963	May 23
1964	Apr 10
1965	May 29
1966	May 14
1967	May 7
1968	Apr 25
1969	Apr 29
1970	Apr 10
1971	May 3
1972	Apr 26
1973	May 17
1974	Apr 24
1975	Apr 21
1976	May 8
1977	May 10
1978	May 10
1979	May 1
1980	May 14
1981	May 20
1982	Apr 28
1983	May 9
1984	May 29
1985	Apr 10
1986	May 3
1987	Apr 9
1988	Apr 29
1989	May 8
1990	Apr 19
1991	Apr 11
1992	May 27
1993	Apr 22
1994	May 1
1995	Apr 22
1996	Apr 30
1997	Apr 25
1999	Apr 19
2000	Apr 22
2001	Apr 19
2003	Apr 24
2004	May 4
2005	May 16
2006	May 6
2007	Apr 17
2008	Apr 29
2009	May 17
2010	May 9
2012	Apr 23
2013	May 13
2014	Apr 23
2015	Apr 24
2016	May 15
2017	May 3
2018	Apr 30
2019	Apr 28
2020	May 10
2021	Apr 25
2022	Apr 28
2023	Apr 27

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1897	153
1898	174
1899	160
1900	155
1901	115
1902	137
1903	137
1904	122
1905	171
1917	110
1918	148
1919	167
1920	140
1926	132
1927	166
1930	133
1931	146
1932	149
1933	157
1934	155
1935	143
1936	161
1938	196
1939	160
1940	157
1944	158
1945	145
1950	145
1951	157
1952	170
1953	168
1954	150
1955	160
1956	142
1959	172
1960	148
1961	146
1962	152
1963	157
1964	170
1965	147
1966	154
1967	144
1968	161
1969	167
1970	176
1971	161
1972	156
1973	165
1974	150
1975	163
1976	136
1977	145
1978	150
1979	158
1981	134
1982	146
1983	135
1984	109
1985	169
1986	155
1987	176
1989	138
1990	174
1991	161
1992	124
1993	165
1994	161
1995	152
1996	163
1997	171
1999	155
2000	167
2003	157
2004	150
2005	152
2006	158
2007	150
2008	171
2009	145
2012	152
2013	153
2014	170
2015	175
2016	150
2017	175
2018	164
2019	166
2020	147
2021	180
2022	162
2023	165

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1897	18.4 °C
1898	17.8 °C
1899	18.1 °C
1900	18.6 °C
1901	19.2 °C
1902	17.3 °C
1903	17.0 °C
1904	16.3 °C
1905	17.5 °C
1917	16.1 °C
1918	17.4 °C
1919	18.2 °C
1920	17.1 °C
1925	18.1 °C
1926	16.6 °C
1927	16.4 °C
1928	16.7 °C
1929	16.7 °C
1930	18.4 °C
1931	18.9 °C
1932	18.0 °C
1933	18.5 °C
1934	18.9 °C
1935	17.1 °C
1936	19.1 °C
1937	18.1 °C
1938	18.5 °C
1939	18.8 °C
1940	17.4 °C
1941	19.2 °C
1942	18.6 °C
1944	18.2 °C
1945	16.3 °C
1948	18.9 °C
1949	18.5 °C
1950	16.7 °C
1951	16.6 °C
1952	18.4 °C
1953	18.0 °C
1954	18.0 °C
1955	18.9 °C
1956	17.6 °C
1959	19.1 °C
1960	18.0 °C
1961	16.9 °C
1962	18.2 °C
1963	18.6 °C
1964	18.7 °C
1965	18.5 °C
1966	17.8 °C
1967	17.2 °C
1968	18.6 °C
1969	18.6 °C
1970	19.2 °C
1971	18.7 °C
1972	18.2 °C
1973	18.2 °C
1974	17.9 °C
1975	18.4 °C
1976	18.2 °C
1977	18.9 °C
1979	17.1 °C
1980	18.2 °C
1981	17.4 °C
1982	16.6 °C
1983	17.3 °C
1984	16.9 °C
1985	18.5 °C
1986	18.1 °C
1987	19.2 °C
1988	18.6 °C
1989	17.1 °C
1990	17.0 °C
1991	18.7 °C
1992	15.8 °C
1993	16.4 °C
1994	17.3 °C
1995	17.4 °C
1996	16.3 °C
1997	16.2 °C
1999	18.2 °C
2000	17.7 °C
2001	18.1 °C
2003	16.6 °C
2004	16.8 °C
2005	18.4 °C
2006	17.6 °C
2007	17.9 °C
2008	16.8 °C
2009	16.2 °C
2010	18.6 °C
2012	18.2 °C
2013	17.2 °C
2014	17.2 °C
2015	17.9 °C
2016	18.2 °C
2017	17.5 °C
2018	17.8 °C
2019	18.1 °C
2020	18.0 °C
2021	18.6 °C
2022	18.1 °C
2023	18.6 °C

What this means for you: Since 1897, Maquoketa's last spring frost has stayed at about the same time of year. 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 Maquoketa (NOAA GHCN-Daily). Years with too many missing days are left out.

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