When to plant in Mount Pleasant, IA

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

Safe to plant out

May 7

1 year in 10 has a later frost

Average last frost

Apr 22

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Oct 12

1 year in 10 by Sep 27

Frost-free days

170

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Mt Pleasant 1 Sw · 2.3 km away · station 221 m, town 218 m. How we match towns to stations

This season

Plan your garden.

Build my Mount Pleasant plan

Planting dates for common crops

Crop	Start indoors	Plant out or sow	Harvest from
Tomato	Mar 12 – Mar 26	May 7 – May 21	Jul 1
Sweet pepper	Feb 26 – Mar 12	May 7 – May 21	Jul 6
Lettuce (leaf)	Feb 18 – Feb 25	Mar 25 – Apr 8	May 4
Peas	—	Mar 24 – Apr 21	May 18
Bush beans	—	Apr 30 – May 21	Jun 19
Carrot	—	Apr 1 – May 13	May 31
Beet	—	Apr 1 – May 13	May 21
Potato	—	Apr 1 – Apr 22	Jun 10
Kale	Feb 17 – Mar 3	Mar 31 – Apr 14	May 13
Broccoli	Feb 11 – Feb 25	Mar 25 – Apr 15	May 24
Cucumber	Apr 9 – Apr 16	May 7 – May 21	Jun 26
Summer squash and zucchini	Apr 9 – Apr 16	May 7 – May 21	Jun 21
Winter squash	Apr 9 – Apr 16	May 7 – May 21	Jul 26
Sweet corn	—	Apr 30 – May 21	Jun 29
Onion (from sets)	—	Mar 25 – Apr 15	Jun 23
Garlic	—	Sep 28 – Oct 26 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Mar 24 – Apr 21	May 1
Basil	Mar 26 – Apr 9	May 7 – May 21	Jul 3

Plan all 65 crops for Mount Pleasant

Mount Pleasant'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
1899	Apr 16
1900	Apr 14
1901	Apr 21
1902	Apr 27
1904	Apr 21
1905	Apr 19
1906	May 9
1907	May 11
1908	May 2
1909	May 3
1910	Apr 25
1911	May 3
1912	May 13
1913	Apr 27
1914	Apr 20
1915	Apr 3
1916	May 2
1917	May 5
1918	May 1
1919	Apr 26
1920	Apr 17
1921	Apr 18
1922	Apr 29
1923	May 9
1924	Apr 2
1925	Apr 6
1926	Apr 26
1927	Apr 24
1929	Apr 2
1930	Apr 24
1931	May 7
1932	Apr 27
1933	Apr 27
1934	Apr 27
1935	May 4
1936	Apr 22
1937	Apr 11
1938	Apr 10
1939	Apr 13
1940	May 1
1941	Mar 29
1942	Apr 20
1943	Apr 21
1944	May 5
1945	May 9
1946	Apr 27
1947	Apr 21
1948	Apr 14
1949	Apr 19
1950	May 1
1951	Apr 23
1952	Apr 16
1953	Apr 27
1954	May 4
1955	Apr 8
1956	Apr 24
1957	May 4
1958	May 7
1959	Apr 22
1960	May 1
1961	May 2
1962	Apr 16
1963	May 1
1964	Apr 10
1965	Apr 27
1966	May 10
1967	May 7
1968	Apr 25
1969	Apr 29
1971	Apr 14
1972	Apr 25
1973	Apr 13
1974	Apr 24
1975	Apr 12
1976	May 3
1977	Apr 29
1978	May 2
1979	Apr 28
1980	Apr 16
1981	Apr 21
1982	Apr 21
1983	Apr 20
1984	Apr 1
1985	Apr 9
1986	Apr 22
1987	Apr 5
1988	Apr 29
1989	May 7
1990	Apr 18
1991	Apr 10
1992	May 6
1993	Apr 22
1994	May 1
1995	Apr 5
1996	Apr 27
1997	May 16
1998	Apr 5
1999	Mar 29
2000	Apr 12
2001	Apr 17
2002	Apr 5
2003	Apr 11
2004	Apr 15
2005	May 4
2006	May 6
2007	Apr 15
2008	Apr 29
2009	Apr 15
2010	May 9
2011	May 5
2012	Apr 23
2013	May 14
2014	Apr 19
2015	Apr 24
2016	Apr 13
2017	Apr 8
2019	Apr 29
2021	Apr 22
2022	Apr 27
2024	Apr 21
2025	Apr 9

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1899	165
1900	177
1901	149
1904	184
1905	175
1906	153
1907	153
1908	149
1909	161
1910	179
1911	171
1912	135
1913	147
1914	187
1915	188
1916	149
1917	153
1918	176
1919	167
1920	166
1921	172
1922	165
1923	163
1924	180
1925	186
1926	152
1927	176
1929	203
1930	175
1931	182
1932	161
1933	168
1934	183
1935	152
1936	182
1937	179
1938	196
1939	183
1940	147
1941	212
1943	176
1944	159
1945	152
1946	191
1947	200
1948	185
1949	162
1950	155
1951	157
1952	169
1953	147
1954	166
1955	190
1956	148
1957	159
1958	146
1959	169
1960	171
1961	148
1962	190
1963	180
1964	177
1965	167
1966	153
1967	144
1968	161
1969	167
1971	203
1973	203
1974	159
1975	172
1976	155
1977	166
1978	158
1979	159
1980	178
1981	180
1982	182
1983	155
1984	180
1985	174
1986	174
1987	180
1988	158
1989	138
1990	182
1991	162
1992	162
1993	170
1994	161
1995	169
1996	174
1997	151
1998	199
1999	202
2000	177
2001	171
2002	190
2003	170
2004	169
2005	174
2006	158
2007	195
2008	181
2009	177
2010	162
2011	149
2012	153
2013	161
2014	168
2015	175
2016	182
2017	203
2021	192
2024	177
2025	197

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1899	19.7 °C
1900	19.6 °C
1901	19.7 °C
1902	18.2 °C
1904	18.4 °C
1905	19.3 °C
1906	20.2 °C
1907	17.9 °C
1908	19.6 °C
1909	18.8 °C
1910	18.9 °C
1911	20.3 °C
1912	18.9 °C
1913	20.1 °C
1914	20.3 °C
1915	18.9 °C
1916	19.4 °C
1918	19.4 °C
1919	19.9 °C
1920	18.5 °C
1921	21.1 °C
1922	20.3 °C
1923	19.6 °C
1924	18.0 °C
1925	20.0 °C
1926	18.9 °C
1927	18.7 °C
1929	18.9 °C
1930	20.4 °C
1931	20.0 °C
1932	19.4 °C
1933	20.3 °C
1934	21.4 °C
1935	18.8 °C
1936	21.5 °C
1937	20.5 °C
1938	20.4 °C
1939	20.4 °C
1940	19.4 °C
1941	21.3 °C
1942	19.8 °C
1943	19.2 °C
1944	19.5 °C
1945	18.3 °C
1946	18.9 °C
1947	19.5 °C
1948	20.1 °C
1949	19.7 °C
1950	17.8 °C
1951	18.1 °C
1952	19.5 °C
1953	19.3 °C
1954	20.2 °C
1955	20.8 °C
1956	19.9 °C
1957	19.3 °C
1958	18.6 °C
1959	19.8 °C
1960	19.2 °C
1961	18.3 °C
1962	19.6 °C
1963	19.9 °C
1964	19.7 °C
1965	18.7 °C
1966	17.7 °C
1967	17.1 °C
1968	19.0 °C
1969	19.1 °C
1970	20.3 °C
1971	19.6 °C
1972	19.3 °C
1973	19.1 °C
1974	18.6 °C
1975	19.1 °C
1976	19.0 °C
1977	21.1 °C
1978	19.6 °C
1979	18.9 °C
1980	20.2 °C
1981	19.6 °C
1982	18.7 °C
1983	20.1 °C
1984	19.1 °C
1985	19.8 °C
1986	19.6 °C
1987	20.2 °C
1988	19.6 °C
1989	17.4 °C
1990	17.8 °C
1991	19.9 °C
1992	17.4 °C
1993	18.2 °C
1994	18.9 °C
1996	18.6 °C
2011	18.8 °C
2012	19.4 °C
2013	18.3 °C
2014	17.8 °C
2015	18.9 °C
2016	18.9 °C
2017	18.6 °C
2021	19.3 °C
2022	19.2 °C
2024	19.7 °C
2025	19.7 °C

What this means for you: Since 1899, Mount Pleasant'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 Mt Pleasant 1 Sw (NOAA GHCN-Daily). Years with too many missing days are left out.

Nearby towns

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