When to plant in Stuart, IA

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

Safe to plant out

May 14

1 year in 10 has a later frost

Average last frost

May 2

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Sep 30

1 year in 10 by Sep 20

Frost-free days

151

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Guthrie Ctr · 23.6 km away · station 325 m, town 368 m. How we match towns to stations

This season

Plan your garden.

Build my Stuart plan

Planting dates for common crops

Crop	Start indoors	Plant out or sow	Harvest from
Tomato	Mar 19 – Apr 2	May 14 – May 28	Jul 8
Sweet pepper	Mar 5 – Mar 19	May 14 – May 28	Jul 13
Lettuce (leaf)	Feb 28 – Mar 7	Apr 4 – Apr 18	May 14
Peas	—	Mar 31 – Apr 28	May 25
Bush beans	—	May 7 – May 28	Jun 26
Carrot	—	Apr 11 – May 23	Jun 10
Beet	—	Apr 9 – May 21	May 29
Potato	—	Apr 11 – May 2	Jun 20
Kale	Feb 24 – Mar 10	Apr 7 – Apr 21	May 20
Broccoli	Feb 21 – Mar 7	Apr 4 – Apr 25	Jun 3
Cucumber	Apr 16 – Apr 23	May 14 – May 28	Jul 3
Summer squash and zucchini	Apr 16 – Apr 23	May 14 – May 28	Jun 28
Winter squash	Apr 16 – Apr 23	May 14 – May 28	Aug 2
Sweet corn	—	May 7 – May 28	Jul 6
Onion (from sets)	—	Apr 4 – Apr 25	Jul 3
Garlic	—	Sep 16 – Oct 14 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Mar 31 – Apr 28	May 8
Basil	Apr 2 – Apr 16	May 14 – May 28	Jul 10

Plan all 65 crops for Stuart

Stuart'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	May 26
1896	Apr 6
1898	May 12
1899	Apr 21
1900	May 3
1902	Apr 23
1903	May 3
1904	Apr 28
1905	Apr 30
1906	May 10
1907	May 20
1908	May 2
1909	May 10
1910	May 4
1911	May 2
1912	Apr 27
1913	Apr 28
1914	Apr 30
1916	May 18
1917	May 8
1918	May 13
1919	Apr 26
1920	May 14
1921	May 4
1922	Apr 19
1923	May 9
1924	May 24
1925	May 25
1926	May 14
1927	Apr 24
1928	Apr 28
1930	Apr 25
1932	Apr 27
1933	Apr 27
1934	Apr 27
1935	May 5
1936	Apr 22
1937	Apr 25
1938	May 13
1939	Apr 19
1940	May 1
1941	Apr 24
1942	May 4
1943	Apr 20
1944	May 6
1945	May 10
1946	May 12
1947	May 29
1948	Apr 14
1949	Apr 24
1950	May 1
1951	Apr 26
1952	Apr 16
1953	May 13
1954	May 20
1955	Apr 8
1956	May 16
1957	Apr 14
1958	May 5
1959	May 15
1960	May 12
1961	May 2
1962	Apr 19
1963	May 23
1964	Apr 10
1966	May 10
1969	Apr 29
1970	May 3
1971	May 3
1972	Apr 25
1973	Apr 28
1974	Apr 24
1975	May 1
1976	May 3
1977	Apr 7
1978	May 2
1979	May 12
1980	May 9
1981	May 10
1983	May 8
1984	May 8
1985	Apr 9
1986	Apr 22
1987	Apr 12
1988	Apr 29
1989	May 13
1990	May 2
1991	May 7
1992	May 6
1993	Apr 17
1994	May 8
1995	May 2
1996	Apr 27
1997	May 20
1998	Apr 23
1999	Apr 19
2000	Apr 29
2001	Apr 24
2003	Apr 22
2004	May 15
2005	May 4
2006	May 6
2007	Apr 16
2008	May 4
2009	May 14
2010	May 9
2011	May 4
2012	Apr 23
2013	May 12
2014	May 17
2016	Apr 13
2017	May 2
2018	Apr 26
2019	May 13
2020	Apr 21
2021	May 13
2022	May 22
2023	May 3
2024	Apr 22
2025	Apr 16
2026	May 11

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1895	123
1898	146
1900	136
1902	141
1903	135
1904	177
1905	164
1906	143
1907	127
1908	148
1909	154
1910	154
1912	151
1913	146
1914	177
1916	133
1917	150
1918	129
1919	167
1921	152
1922	172
1923	162
1924	128
1925	134
1926	133
1930	174
1932	165
1933	160
1934	152
1935	151
1936	182
1937	143
1938	162
1939	163
1940	188
1941	185
1942	142
1943	177
1944	156
1945	141
1946	152
1947	161
1948	185
1949	157
1950	154
1951	154
1952	171
1953	146
1954	150
1955	156
1956	136
1957	186
1958	148
1959	146
1960	147
1961	148
1962	153
1969	167
1970	159
1971	180
1972	157
1973	183
1974	150
1975	146
1976	155
1977	187
1978	166
1979	145
1980	139
1981	144
1983	135
1984	140
1985	174
1986	166
1987	173
1988	157
1989	132
1990	160
1991	134
1992	145
1994	140
1995	142
1996	158
1997	125
1998	167
1999	154
2000	144
2001	152
2003	155
2004	136
2005	147
2006	136
2007	151
2008	164
2009	138
2010	146
2011	133
2012	152
2013	153
2014	139
2016	182
2017	166
2018	171
2019	151
2020	163
2021	134
2022	128
2023	158
2024	167
2025	188

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1895	18.7 °C
1896	18.6 °C
1898	18.6 °C
1899	17.5 °C
1900	19.4 °C
1902	16.9 °C
1903	17.2 °C
1904	17.7 °C
1905	18.5 °C
1906	18.9 °C
1907	17.0 °C
1908	18.5 °C
1909	18.0 °C
1910	18.3 °C
1911	19.9 °C
1912	18.3 °C
1913	19.7 °C
1914	19.9 °C
1915	17.5 °C
1916	18.7 °C
1917	16.4 °C
1918	18.4 °C
1919	18.9 °C
1920	17.3 °C
1921	20.0 °C
1922	19.4 °C
1923	18.4 °C
1924	17.0 °C
1925	19.4 °C
1926	18.0 °C
1928	17.3 °C
1929	18.1 °C
1930	19.7 °C
1931	20.4 °C
1932	19.8 °C
1933	20.4 °C
1934	21.3 °C
1935	18.9 °C
1936	21.3 °C
1937	19.9 °C
1938	19.7 °C
1939	19.9 °C
1940	18.4 °C
1941	19.8 °C
1942	18.4 °C
1943	18.0 °C
1944	18.0 °C
1945	16.9 °C
1946	18.0 °C
1947	18.3 °C
1948	19.3 °C
1949	18.7 °C
1951	17.0 °C
1952	18.5 °C
1953	18.3 °C
1954	20.5 °C
1955	21.4 °C
1956	19.7 °C
1957	19.3 °C
1958	19.1 °C
1959	19.6 °C
1960	19.1 °C
1961	17.8 °C
1962	18.8 °C
1964	19.2 °C
1966	17.9 °C
1969	18.1 °C
1970	18.9 °C
1971	18.0 °C
1972	17.6 °C
1973	17.7 °C
1974	17.9 °C
1975	18.0 °C
1977	20.2 °C
1978	19.0 °C
1979	17.7 °C
1980	19.2 °C
1981	18.6 °C
1983	18.1 °C
1984	17.0 °C
1985	17.6 °C
1986	18.8 °C
1987	18.7 °C
1988	19.5 °C
1989	17.4 °C
1990	17.7 °C
1991	18.9 °C
1992	16.5 °C
1993	17.2 °C
1994	17.9 °C
1995	17.6 °C
1996	16.6 °C
1997	17.2 °C
1998	19.1 °C
1999	18.2 °C
2000	18.4 °C
2001	18.6 °C
2003	17.9 °C
2004	17.7 °C
2005	18.9 °C
2006	18.4 °C
2007	19.0 °C
2008	17.1 °C
2009	16.9 °C
2010	19.1 °C
2011	18.1 °C
2012	19.7 °C
2013	17.8 °C
2014	17.5 °C
2015	18.4 °C
2016	19.1 °C
2017	18.7 °C
2018	18.6 °C
2019	18.7 °C
2020	18.6 °C
2021	18.8 °C
2022	18.3 °C
2023	18.9 °C
2024	18.7 °C
2025	19.0 °C
2026	19.7 °C

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

Nearby towns

Earlham Panora Lake Panorama Guthrie Center Greenfield De Soto