When to plant in Onawa, IA

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

Safe to plant out

May 5

1 year in 10 has a later frost

Average last frost

Apr 26

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Oct 2

1 year in 10 by Sep 20

Frost-free days

156

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Onawa 3nw · 5.3 km away · station 323 m, town 320 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 10 – Mar 24	May 5 – May 19	Jun 29
Sweet pepper	Feb 24 – Mar 10	May 5 – May 19	Jul 4
Lettuce (leaf)	Feb 22 – Mar 1	Mar 29 – Apr 12	May 8
Peas	—	Mar 27 – Apr 24	May 21
Bush beans	—	Apr 28 – May 19	Jun 17
Carrot	—	Apr 5 – May 17	Jun 4
Beet	—	Apr 4 – May 16	May 24
Potato	—	Apr 5 – Apr 26	Jun 14
Kale	Feb 20 – Mar 6	Apr 3 – Apr 17	May 16
Broccoli	Feb 15 – Mar 1	Mar 29 – Apr 19	May 28
Cucumber	Apr 7 – Apr 14	May 5 – May 19	Jun 24
Summer squash and zucchini	Apr 7 – Apr 14	May 5 – May 19	Jun 19
Winter squash	Apr 7 – Apr 14	May 5 – May 19	Jul 24
Sweet corn	—	Apr 28 – May 19	Jun 27
Onion (from sets)	—	Mar 29 – Apr 19	Jun 27
Garlic	—	Sep 18 – Oct 16 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Mar 27 – Apr 24	May 4
Basil	Mar 24 – Apr 7	May 5 – May 19	Jul 1

Plan all 65 crops for Onawa

Onawa'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 22
1900	May 3
1901	Apr 20
1902	Apr 23
1903	May 3
1904	Apr 27
1905	Apr 21
1906	May 6
1907	May 16
1908	May 2
1909	May 10
1910	May 4
1911	May 2
1912	Apr 18
1913	Apr 13
1914	Apr 20
1915	May 18
1916	May 18
1917	May 7
1919	Apr 24
1920	Apr 28
1923	May 12
1924	May 24
1925	May 17
1927	May 5
1929	May 16
1930	Apr 22
1931	May 22
1932	Apr 27
1933	Apr 15
1934	Apr 27
1935	May 5
1936	Apr 22
1937	Apr 26
1938	May 8
1939	Apr 19
1940	Apr 24
1941	Apr 24
1942	May 4
1943	May 8
1944	May 6
1945	May 10
1946	May 12
1947	May 29
1948	Apr 13
1949	Apr 19
1950	May 1
1951	Apr 26
1952	Apr 12
1954	May 9
1955	Apr 7
1956	Apr 30
1957	Apr 14
1958	Apr 29
1959	May 15
1960	Apr 30
1961	May 9
1962	Apr 17
1963	May 22
1964	Apr 9
1965	Apr 28
1966	May 9
1967	May 13
1968	May 5
1969	Apr 11
1970	May 2
1971	May 3
1972	Apr 25
1973	May 3
1974	Apr 23
1975	Apr 20
1976	May 7
1977	Apr 6
1978	May 3
1980	May 8
1981	May 11
1982	Apr 22
1983	May 15
1984	May 8
1985	Apr 9
1986	Apr 22
1987	Apr 23
1988	Apr 28
1989	May 7
1990	May 1
1991	Apr 10
1992	Apr 27
1993	Apr 20
1994	May 1
1995	May 2
1996	Apr 30
1997	May 13
1998	Apr 17
1999	Apr 18
2000	Apr 21
2001	Apr 24
2002	May 2
2003	Apr 22
2004	May 3
2005	May 5
2006	Apr 27
2007	Apr 16
2008	Apr 29
2009	Apr 15
2010	May 10
2011	May 4

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1899	159
1900	156
1902	173
1903	175
1904	178
1905	173
1906	155
1907	148
1908	149
1909	154
1910	170
1911	171
1912	164
1913	161
1914	178
1915	139
1916	119
1917	153
1919	168
1923	153
1924	150
1925	144
1927	137
1929	157
1930	176
1931	147
1932	159
1933	179
1934	152
1935	151
1936	168
1937	170
1938	133
1939	163
1940	139
1941	174
1942	142
1943	134
1944	154
1945	141
1946	139
1947	115
1948	192
1949	161
1950	154
1951	154
1952	175
1954	159
1955	156
1956	152
1957	186
1958	154
1959	146
1960	168
1961	141
1962	188
1963	159
1964	182
1965	148
1966	144
1967	136
1968	151
1969	185
1970	159
1971	159
1972	157
1973	178
1974	151
1975	163
1976	151
1977	185
1978	156
1980	147
1981	143
1982	176
1983	128
1984	140
1985	169
1986	173
1987	162
1988	158
1989	138
1990	161
1991	161
1992	166
1993	147
1994	176
1995	142
1996	155
1997	152
1998	166
1999	155
2000	156
2001	164
2002	144
2003	159
2004	151
2005	146
2006	145
2007	189
2008	167
2009	166
2010	146

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1899	19.2 °C
1900	20.2 °C
1901	20.3 °C
1902	18.6 °C
1903	18.4 °C
1904	18.4 °C
1905	19.3 °C
1906	19.4 °C
1907	17.8 °C
1908	19.8 °C
1909	19.1 °C
1910	19.1 °C
1911	20.5 °C
1912	19.2 °C
1913	20.8 °C
1914	20.4 °C
1915	17.9 °C
1916	18.7 °C
1917	17.6 °C
1919	19.1 °C
1920	17.9 °C
1923	18.3 °C
1924	16.8 °C
1925	19.5 °C
1927	17.9 °C
1928	17.6 °C
1929	18.0 °C
1930	19.4 °C
1931	19.4 °C
1932	18.1 °C
1933	20.4 °C
1934	21.0 °C
1935	18.7 °C
1936	21.6 °C
1937	20.0 °C
1938	19.8 °C
1939	20.5 °C
1940	19.3 °C
1941	20.7 °C
1942	18.9 °C
1943	19.1 °C
1944	18.3 °C
1945	17.8 °C
1946	19.0 °C
1947	19.2 °C
1948	19.9 °C
1949	18.7 °C
1950	16.9 °C
1951	17.5 °C
1952	19.4 °C
1953	20.3 °C
1954	19.9 °C
1955	21.4 °C
1956	19.5 °C
1957	19.0 °C
1958	19.1 °C
1959	19.2 °C
1960	18.9 °C
1961	18.2 °C
1962	19.1 °C
1963	20.1 °C
1964	19.6 °C
1965	18.6 °C
1966	17.8 °C
1967	17.7 °C
1968	19.1 °C
1969	19.5 °C
1970	20.3 °C
1971	19.2 °C
1972	18.9 °C
1973	19.2 °C
1974	19.0 °C
1975	19.2 °C
1976	20.2 °C
1977	20.8 °C
1978	19.7 °C
1980	19.9 °C
1981	19.6 °C
1982	18.3 °C
1983	19.2 °C
1984	18.5 °C
1985	18.9 °C
1986	19.4 °C
1987	20.1 °C
1988	20.5 °C
1989	19.3 °C
1990	19.2 °C
1991	20.1 °C
1992	17.3 °C
1993	17.8 °C
1994	19.1 °C
1995	18.5 °C
1996	17.7 °C
1997	18.0 °C
1998	20.2 °C
1999	18.9 °C
2000	20.0 °C
2001	19.8 °C
2002	20.1 °C
2003	19.1 °C
2004	19.1 °C
2005	19.8 °C
2006	19.4 °C
2007	19.4 °C
2008	17.5 °C
2009	17.1 °C
2010	19.0 °C
2011	18.1 °C

What this means for you: Since 1899, Onawa'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 Onawa 3nw (NOAA GHCN-Daily). Years with too many missing days are left out.

Nearby towns

Macy, NE Tekamah, NE Mapleton Oakland, NE Woodbine Sergeant Bluff