When to plant in Pleasantville, IA

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

Safe to plant out

May 1

1 year in 10 has a later frost

Average last frost

Apr 18

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Oct 16

1 year in 10 by Sep 30

Frost-free days

178

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Knoxville · 15.6 km away · station 273 m, town 279 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 6 – Mar 20	May 1 – May 15	Jun 25
Sweet pepper	Feb 20 – Mar 6	May 1 – May 15	Jun 30
Lettuce (leaf)	Feb 19 – Feb 26	Mar 26 – Apr 9	May 5
Peas	—	Mar 26 – Apr 23	May 20
Bush beans	—	Apr 24 – May 15	Jun 13
Carrot	—	Apr 4 – May 16	Jun 3
Beet	—	Apr 4 – May 16	May 24
Potato	—	Apr 4 – Apr 25	Jun 13
Kale	Feb 19 – Mar 5	Apr 2 – Apr 16	May 15
Broccoli	Feb 12 – Feb 26	Mar 26 – Apr 16	May 25
Cucumber	Apr 3 – Apr 10	May 1 – May 15	Jun 20
Summer squash and zucchini	Apr 3 – Apr 10	May 1 – May 15	Jun 15
Winter squash	Apr 3 – Apr 10	May 1 – May 15	Jul 20
Sweet corn	—	Apr 24 – May 15	Jun 23
Onion (from sets)	—	Mar 26 – Apr 16	Jun 24
Garlic	—	Oct 2 – Oct 30 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Mar 26 – Apr 23	May 3
Basil	Mar 20 – Apr 3	May 1 – May 15	Jun 27

Plan all 65 crops for Pleasantville

Pleasantville'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
1895	Apr 3
1896	Apr 5
1897	Apr 20
1898	Apr 26
1899	Apr 16
1900	Apr 13
1901	Apr 20
1905	Apr 18
1906	May 7
1907	May 11
1908	May 2
1910	Apr 25
1911	Apr 15
1912	Apr 21
1917	May 7
1918	May 1
1919	Apr 26
1921	May 3
1922	Apr 29
1923	May 9
1924	Apr 22
1925	May 25
1926	Apr 28
1927	Apr 24
1928	Apr 28
1929	May 5
1930	Apr 25
1931	May 7
1932	Apr 27
1933	Apr 27
1934	Apr 27
1935	May 4
1936	Apr 22
1937	Apr 25
1938	Apr 22
1939	Apr 18
1940	May 1
1942	Apr 19
1943	Apr 20
1944	May 5
1945	Apr 18
1946	May 11
1947	May 9
1948	Apr 14
1949	Apr 19
1950	May 1
1951	Apr 23
1952	Apr 16
1953	Apr 20
1954	May 4
1955	Apr 7
1956	Apr 30
1957	Apr 14
1958	May 6
1959	Apr 22
1960	May 8
1961	May 2
1962	Apr 16
1963	Apr 24
1964	Apr 9
1965	Apr 19
1966	May 10
1967	May 3
1968	Apr 25
1969	Mar 29
1970	May 2
1971	May 3
1972	Apr 8
1973	May 15
1974	Apr 15
1975	Apr 20
1976	May 3
1978	Apr 21
1979	Apr 28
1980	May 8
1981	Apr 14
1982	Apr 22
1983	Apr 20
1985	Apr 9
1986	Apr 22
1987	Apr 4
1988	Apr 19
1989	May 6
1990	Apr 17
1991	Apr 10
1992	May 6
1993	Apr 6
1994	Apr 29
1995	Apr 13
1996	Apr 23
1997	Apr 16
1998	Mar 24
2001	Apr 19
2003	Apr 10
2008	Apr 30
2013	May 4
2014	Apr 18
2015	Apr 22
2016	Apr 13
2017	Apr 7
2018	Apr 21
2019	Apr 28
2021	Apr 22
2022	Apr 27
2023	Apr 1

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1895	179
1896	194
1897	191
1898	170
1899	165
1900	177
1901	166
1905	176
1906	155
1908	148
1910	179
1911	189
1912	157
1917	151
1918	141
1919	167
1921	153
1922	165
1923	163
1924	160
1925	134
1926	150
1927	172
1928	150
1929	170
1930	174
1931	180
1932	161
1933	173
1934	152
1935	152
1936	182
1937	153
1938	180
1939	176
1940	147
1942	157
1943	177
1944	157
1945	173
1946	153
1947	182
1948	185
1949	162
1950	155
1951	157
1952	172
1953	189
1954	166
1955	190
1956	178
1957	187
1958	147
1959	169
1960	163
1961	170
1962	189
1963	187
1964	171
1965	157
1966	143
1967	148
1968	161
1969	198
1970	160
1971	180
1972	189
1973	171
1974	159
1975	164
1976	155
1978	175
1979	167
1980	156
1981	187
1982	181
1983	174
1985	174
1986	174
1987	181
1988	167
1989	153
1990	183
1991	161
1992	163
1993	186
1994	178
1995	161
1996	189
1997	187
2001	170
2013	171
2014	195
2015	190
2016	182
2017	203
2018	176
2019	166
2021	192
2022	170

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1895	19.7 °C
1896	19.5 °C
1897	19.8 °C
1898	19.4 °C
1899	19.2 °C
1900	20.2 °C
1901	20.5 °C
1906	19.7 °C
1907	17.6 °C
1908	19.1 °C
1910	19.2 °C
1911	20.9 °C
1912	19.6 °C
1917	17.6 °C
1918	19.6 °C
1919	19.7 °C
1921	20.6 °C
1922	19.6 °C
1923	19.0 °C
1924	17.7 °C
1925	19.9 °C
1926	18.7 °C
1927	18.6 °C
1928	18.0 °C
1929	18.6 °C
1930	20.2 °C
1931	19.9 °C
1932	19.3 °C
1933	20.4 °C
1934	21.9 °C
1935	18.3 °C
1936	21.3 °C
1937	19.9 °C
1938	20.2 °C
1939	20.4 °C
1940	19.1 °C
1941	21.1 °C
1942	19.7 °C
1943	19.2 °C
1944	19.5 °C
1945	18.1 °C
1946	19.3 °C
1947	20.1 °C
1948	20.7 °C
1949	19.8 °C
1950	17.9 °C
1951	18.1 °C
1952	19.6 °C
1953	20.2 °C
1954	20.4 °C
1955	21.2 °C
1956	19.9 °C
1957	18.9 °C
1958	18.7 °C
1959	19.5 °C
1960	18.8 °C
1961	18.2 °C
1962	19.2 °C
1963	19.9 °C
1964	19.7 °C
1965	18.8 °C
1966	17.6 °C
1967	18.2 °C
1968	19.4 °C
1969	19.7 °C
1970	20.2 °C
1971	19.6 °C
1972	19.3 °C
1973	19.4 °C
1974	18.7 °C
1975	18.9 °C
1976	19.3 °C
1978	19.9 °C
1979	19.2 °C
1980	20.9 °C
1981	20.1 °C
1982	19.0 °C
1983	20.3 °C
1985	20.0 °C
1986	20.6 °C
1987	20.7 °C
1988	20.8 °C
1989	18.9 °C
1990	19.0 °C
1991	20.3 °C
1993	18.3 °C
1994	19.2 °C
1995	18.8 °C
1996	18.1 °C
1997	18.2 °C
1998	19.9 °C
2001	19.4 °C
2008	17.9 °C
2013	18.8 °C
2014	18.0 °C
2015	19.1 °C
2016	19.6 °C
2017	19.4 °C
2018	19.4 °C
2019	19.2 °C
2021	19.1 °C
2022	18.8 °C

What this means for you: Since 1895, Pleasantville'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 Knoxville (NOAA GHCN-Daily). Years with too many missing days are left out.

Nearby towns

Knoxville Melcher-Dallas Monroe Carlisle Prairie City Indianola