When to plant in Marshalltown, IA

Planting dates worked out from Marshalltown'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 28

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Oct 5

1 year in 10 by Sep 22

Frost-free days

158

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Marshalltown · 2.2 km away · station 265 m, town 287 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 17 – Mar 31	May 12 – May 26	Jul 6
Sweet pepper	Mar 3 – Mar 17	May 12 – May 26	Jul 11
Lettuce (leaf)	Feb 25 – Mar 4	Apr 1 – Apr 15	May 11
Peas	—	Apr 1 – Apr 29	May 26
Bush beans	—	May 5 – May 26	Jun 24
Carrot	—	Apr 11 – May 23	Jun 10
Beet	—	Apr 11 – May 23	May 31
Potato	—	Apr 11 – May 2	Jun 20
Kale	Feb 25 – Mar 11	Apr 8 – Apr 22	May 21
Broccoli	Feb 18 – Mar 4	Apr 1 – Apr 22	May 31
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 1 – Apr 22	Jun 30
Garlic	—	Sep 21 – Oct 19 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Apr 1 – Apr 29	May 9
Basil	Mar 31 – Apr 14	May 12 – May 26	Jul 8

Plan all 65 crops for Marshalltown

Marshalltown'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
1893	Apr 22
1895	May 20
1896	Apr 8
1897	May 1
1898	May 5
1899	Apr 19
1900	May 3
1901	Apr 21
1902	Apr 24
1903	May 3
1904	Apr 27
1905	Apr 30
1906	May 9
1907	May 20
1908	May 3
1909	May 10
1910	May 5
1911	May 2
1912	Apr 27
1913	Apr 28
1914	Apr 21
1915	May 9
1916	May 2
1917	May 7
1918	May 2
1919	Apr 26
1920	Apr 14
1921	May 3
1922	Apr 20
1923	May 9
1924	Apr 22
1925	May 8
1926	Apr 26
1927	Apr 24
1928	Apr 27
1929	May 19
1930	Apr 25
1931	May 22
1932	Apr 27
1933	Apr 27
1934	Apr 27
1935	May 4
1936	Apr 23
1937	Apr 22
1938	May 13
1939	Apr 22
1940	May 4
1941	Apr 25
1942	May 16
1943	May 1
1944	May 7
1945	May 18
1946	May 12
1947	May 29
1948	Apr 21
1950	May 1
1951	Apr 26
1952	Apr 15
1953	May 13
1954	May 20
1955	Apr 8
1956	Apr 30
1957	May 4
1958	May 5
1959	Apr 22
1960	Apr 18
1961	May 2
1962	Apr 17
1963	May 23
1964	Apr 15
1965	Apr 19
1966	May 14
1967	May 7
1968	May 10
1969	Apr 29
1970	May 2
1971	May 3
1972	Apr 25
1973	Apr 28
1974	May 6
1975	Apr 22
1976	Apr 12
1977	Apr 26
1978	May 6
1979	May 1
1980	May 9
1981	May 12
1982	Apr 21
1983	Apr 20
1984	Apr 23
1985	Apr 15
1986	Apr 22
1987	Apr 8
1988	Apr 24
1989	May 7
1990	May 2
1991	Apr 10
1992	May 6
1993	Apr 17
1994	May 1
1995	Apr 25
1996	May 2
1997	May 16
1998	Apr 4
1999	Apr 20
2000	Apr 22
2001	Apr 19
2002	May 21
2003	Apr 23
2004	May 4
2005	May 5
2006	May 7
2007	Apr 16
2008	Apr 30
2009	Apr 16
2010	May 10
2011	May 5
2012	Apr 22
2013	May 5
2014	Apr 19
2015	Apr 23
2016	Apr 13
2017	Apr 28
2018	Apr 29
2019	May 13
2020	May 12
2021	May 12
2022	Apr 27
2023	May 4
2024	Apr 22
2025	Apr 17
2026	May 7

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1895	131
1896	164
1897	141
1898	153
1899	159
1900	157
1901	165
1902	141
1903	158
1904	161
1905	164
1906	144
1907	127
1908	147
1910	169
1911	170
1912	151
1913	146
1914	186
1915	148
1916	138
1917	146
1918	140
1919	167
1920	168
1921	157
1922	174
1923	162
1924	160
1925	151
1926	151
1927	172
1928	150
1929	121
1930	176
1931	165
1932	165
1933	168
1934	183
1935	146
1936	161
1937	150
1938	160
1939	160
1940	130
1941	153
1942	130
1943	141
1944	154
1945	133
1946	140
1947	119
1951	154
1952	170
1953	131
1954	150
1955	156
1956	142
1957	158
1958	148
1959	169
1960	183
1961	148
1962	155
1963	158
1964	165
1965	176
1966	139
1967	143
1969	168
1970	160
1971	139
1972	157
1973	184
1974	138
1975	152
1976	176
1977	168
1978	154
1979	156
1980	139
1981	128
1982	182
1983	155
1984	145
1985	164
1986	166
1987	177
1988	161
1989	138
1990	160
1991	162
1992	145
1993	174
1994	161
1995	149
1996	158
1997	151
1998	200
1999	154
2000	166
2001	169
2002	125
2003	158
2004	150
2005	155
2006	157
2007	151
2008	173
2009	176
2010	136
2011	132
2012	153
2013	161
2014	174
2015	176
2016	182
2017	171
2018	168
2019	151
2020	143
2021	162
2022	153
2023	158
2024	175
2025	188

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1893	17.7 °C
1895	18.9 °C
1896	18.6 °C
1897	18.5 °C
1898	18.3 °C
1899	18.6 °C
1900	19.8 °C
1901	19.9 °C
1902	17.8 °C
1903	17.6 °C
1904	17.1 °C
1905	18.0 °C
1906	18.7 °C
1907	16.3 °C
1908	17.9 °C
1910	18.1 °C
1911	19.5 °C
1912	18.7 °C
1913	19.6 °C
1914	20.0 °C
1915	17.7 °C
1916	18.2 °C
1917	17.1 °C
1918	17.3 °C
1919	19.3 °C
1920	17.8 °C
1921	20.7 °C
1922	19.5 °C
1923	18.9 °C
1924	17.2 °C
1925	19.9 °C
1926	18.4 °C
1927	17.9 °C
1928	17.6 °C
1929	18.2 °C
1930	19.8 °C
1931	20.2 °C
1932	19.2 °C
1933	20.1 °C
1934	20.8 °C
1935	17.5 °C
1936	19.7 °C
1937	18.5 °C
1938	18.5 °C
1939	19.2 °C
1940	18.4 °C
1941	20.1 °C
1942	18.6 °C
1943	17.8 °C
1944	18.2 °C
1945	16.9 °C
1946	17.8 °C
1947	18.4 °C
1950	16.5 °C
1951	17.1 °C
1952	18.7 °C
1953	18.2 °C
1954	19.1 °C
1955	20.0 °C
1956	18.4 °C
1957	18.2 °C
1958	17.6 °C
1959	18.9 °C
1960	18.3 °C
1961	17.1 °C
1962	17.7 °C
1963	18.6 °C
1964	18.5 °C
1965	17.5 °C
1966	17.1 °C
1967	16.9 °C
1969	18.2 °C
1970	19.0 °C
1971	18.2 °C
1972	17.9 °C
1973	17.6 °C
1974	17.4 °C
1975	17.5 °C
1976	17.9 °C
1977	19.0 °C
1979	17.2 °C
1980	18.4 °C
1981	17.7 °C
1982	17.0 °C
1983	18.0 °C
1984	17.4 °C
1985	17.7 °C
1986	18.2 °C
1987	18.8 °C
1988	19.6 °C
1989	17.5 °C
1990	18.0 °C
1991	19.2 °C
1992	16.5 °C
1993	17.1 °C
1994	17.9 °C
1995	17.8 °C
1996	17.0 °C
1997	17.5 °C
1998	19.3 °C
1999	18.2 °C
2000	18.0 °C
2001	18.0 °C
2002	18.0 °C
2003	17.4 °C
2004	17.1 °C
2005	18.7 °C
2006	18.3 °C
2007	18.7 °C
2008	17.3 °C
2009	16.8 °C
2010	18.9 °C
2011	17.6 °C
2012	19.0 °C
2013	17.5 °C
2014	17.4 °C
2015	18.2 °C
2016	18.6 °C
2017	18.1 °C
2018	18.2 °C
2019	17.9 °C
2020	17.7 °C
2021	18.7 °C
2022	17.9 °C
2024	18.0 °C
2025	18.3 °C

What this means for you: Since 1893, Marshalltown's last spring frost has stayed at about the same time of year. Year-to-year swings are large, so keep using the safe date rather than the trend.

Source: daily records from Marshalltown (NOAA GHCN-Daily). Years with too many missing days are left out.

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