When to plant in Sioux City, IA

Planting dates worked out from Sioux City'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 2

1 year in 10 by Sep 20

Frost-free days

155

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Sioux City Ap · 12.2 km away · station 333 m, town 366 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 17 – Mar 31	May 12 – May 26	Jul 6
Sweet pepper	Mar 3 – Mar 17	May 12 – May 26	Jul 11
Lettuce (leaf)	Feb 24 – Mar 3	Mar 31 – Apr 14	May 10
Peas	—	Mar 29 – Apr 26	May 23
Bush beans	—	May 5 – May 26	Jun 24
Carrot	—	Apr 8 – May 20	Jun 7
Beet	—	Apr 8 – May 20	May 28
Potato	—	Apr 8 – Apr 29	Jun 17
Kale	Feb 22 – Mar 8	Apr 5 – Apr 19	May 18
Broccoli	Feb 17 – Mar 3	Mar 31 – Apr 21	May 30
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)	—	Mar 31 – Apr 21	Jun 29
Garlic	—	Sep 18 – Oct 16 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Mar 29 – Apr 26	May 6
Basil	Mar 31 – Apr 14	May 12 – May 26	Jul 8

Plan all 65 crops for Sioux City

Sioux City'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
1948	Apr 9
1949	Apr 24
1950	May 1
1951	Apr 26
1952	Apr 16
1953	Apr 27
1954	May 7
1955	Apr 7
1956	Apr 30
1957	Apr 14
1958	Apr 29
1959	Apr 22
1960	Apr 30
1961	May 2
1962	Apr 16
1963	May 22
1964	Apr 9
1965	Apr 28
1966	May 1
1967	May 4
1968	May 5
1969	May 12
1970	May 2
1971	Apr 29
1972	Apr 15
1973	Apr 27
1974	Apr 16
1975	Apr 20
1976	May 7
1977	Apr 6
1978	May 3
1979	May 4
1980	May 8
1981	May 11
1982	Apr 22
1983	May 15
1984	Apr 6
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 16
1994	May 1
1995	Apr 27
1996	Apr 30
1997	May 20
1998	Apr 19
1999	Apr 18
2000	Apr 21
2001	Apr 24
2002	May 19
2003	Apr 22
2004	May 3
2005	May 4
2006	Apr 26
2007	Apr 15
2008	Apr 29
2009	Apr 14
2010	May 9
2011	May 3
2012	Apr 23
2013	May 12
2014	May 17
2015	Apr 23
2016	Apr 12
2017	Apr 28
2018	Apr 23
2019	Apr 28
2020	May 11
2021	May 11
2022	May 22
2023	May 3
2024	Apr 24

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1948	185
1949	157
1950	154
1951	154
1952	171
1953	181
1954	172
1955	183
1956	152
1957	192
1958	154
1959	169
1960	168
1961	148
1962	189
1963	159
1964	181
1965	148
1966	156
1967	146
1968	151
1969	153
1970	159
1971	142
1972	174
1973	183
1974	158
1975	157
1976	151
1977	185
1978	156
1979	160
1980	147
1981	143
1982	180
1983	130
1984	172
1985	169
1986	172
1987	162
1988	158
1989	138
1990	161
1991	161
1992	166
1993	163
1994	175
1995	147
1996	155
1997	123
1998	176
1999	155
2000	152
2001	152
2002	139
2003	155
2004	150
2005	147
2006	146
2007	152
2008	167
2009	172
2010	158
2011	134
2012	151
2013	153
2014	138
2015	175
2016	182
2017	165
2018	171
2019	165
2020	142
2021	162
2022	137
2023	156
2024	165

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1948	19.6 °C
1949	19.0 °C
1950	16.6 °C
1951	16.9 °C
1952	18.9 °C
1953	18.6 °C
1954	19.3 °C
1955	21.2 °C
1956	19.2 °C
1957	18.7 °C
1958	18.6 °C
1959	19.3 °C
1960	18.8 °C
1961	17.9 °C
1962	18.7 °C
1963	19.7 °C
1964	19.0 °C
1965	18.3 °C
1966	17.9 °C
1967	17.5 °C
1968	18.7 °C
1969	18.7 °C
1970	19.4 °C
1971	19.1 °C
1972	18.8 °C
1973	19.1 °C
1974	19.0 °C
1975	18.4 °C
1976	19.0 °C
1977	19.6 °C
1978	18.6 °C
1979	18.0 °C
1980	19.3 °C
1981	19.1 °C
1982	18.0 °C
1983	18.6 °C
1984	17.8 °C
1985	18.6 °C
1986	18.8 °C
1987	19.9 °C
1988	20.2 °C
1989	18.8 °C
1990	18.9 °C
1991	19.7 °C
1992	16.8 °C
1993	17.2 °C
1994	18.6 °C
1995	17.9 °C
1996	17.1 °C
1997	17.4 °C
1998	19.3 °C
1999	18.2 °C
2000	18.9 °C
2001	18.6 °C
2002	19.1 °C
2003	18.0 °C
2004	18.2 °C
2005	20.3 °C
2006	19.2 °C
2007	19.4 °C
2008	17.8 °C
2009	17.9 °C
2010	19.6 °C
2011	18.6 °C
2012	20.2 °C
2013	18.2 °C
2014	18.4 °C
2015	19.0 °C
2016	19.9 °C
2017	18.9 °C
2018	18.5 °C
2019	18.6 °C
2020	18.8 °C
2021	19.1 °C
2022	19.2 °C
2023	19.7 °C
2024	19.1 °C

What this means for you: Since 1948, Sioux City's last spring frost has come about 1 day later per decade, on average. The frost-free season has shrunk by about 2 days per decade. Year-to-year swings are large, so keep using the safe date rather than the trend.

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

Nearby towns

South Sioux City, NE Dakota Dunes, SD North Sioux City, SD Dakota City, NE Sergeant Bluff Moville