When to plant in Washington, IA

Planting dates worked out from Washington'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 21

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Oct 11

1 year in 10 by Sep 24

Frost-free days

170

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Washington · 2.2 km away · station 209 m, town 232 m. How we match towns to stations

This season

Plan your garden.

Build my Washington plan

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 19 – Feb 26	Mar 26 – Apr 9	May 5
Peas	—	Mar 26 – Apr 23	May 20
Bush beans	—	Apr 28 – May 19	Jun 17
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 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 26 – Apr 16	Jun 24
Garlic	—	Sep 27 – Oct 25 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Mar 26 – Apr 23	May 3
Basil	Mar 24 – Apr 7	May 5 – May 19	Jul 1

Plan all 65 crops for Washington

Washington'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
1893	Apr 23
1894	Apr 12
1895	May 14
1896	Apr 9
1897	May 2
1898	Apr 11
1899	Apr 16
1900	May 3
1901	Apr 21
1903	May 3
1904	Apr 21
1905	Apr 18
1906	May 9
1907	May 11
1908	May 2
1909	May 3
1910	Apr 25
1911	Apr 9
1912	Apr 19
1913	Apr 27
1914	Apr 20
1915	Apr 12
1916	Apr 9
1917	May 5
1918	May 1
1919	Apr 26
1920	Apr 17
1921	Apr 18
1922	Apr 20
1923	May 9
1924	Apr 12
1925	May 7
1926	Apr 26
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 11
1938	Apr 22
1939	Apr 22
1940	Apr 19
1941	Mar 29
1942	Apr 19
1943	Apr 17
1944	May 6
1945	May 9
1946	Apr 27
1947	May 9
1948	Apr 9
1949	Apr 19
1950	May 1
1951	Apr 23
1952	Apr 15
1953	Apr 27
1954	May 7
1955	Apr 7
1956	Apr 30
1957	Apr 15
1958	Apr 29
1959	Apr 21
1960	Apr 18
1961	Apr 29
1962	Apr 16
1963	May 1
1964	Apr 9
1965	Apr 19
1966	May 10
1967	May 7
1968	Apr 25
1969	Apr 29
1970	May 2
1971	Apr 14
1972	Apr 25
1973	Apr 13
1974	Apr 9
1975	Apr 13
1976	Apr 12
1977	Apr 29
1978	May 1
1979	Apr 9
1980	Apr 16
1981	Apr 6
1982	Apr 21
1983	Apr 20
1984	Apr 1
1985	Apr 9
1986	Apr 22
1987	Apr 5
1988	Apr 24
1989	May 7
1990	Apr 18
1991	Apr 10
1992	Apr 22
1993	Apr 17
1994	Apr 7
1995	Apr 5
1996	Apr 16
1997	Apr 17
1998	Mar 24
1999	Apr 19
2000	Apr 13
2001	Apr 19
2002	Apr 6
2003	Apr 23
2004	May 4
2005	May 5
2006	May 6
2007	Apr 17
2008	May 4
2009	Apr 16
2010	May 9
2011	May 5
2012	Apr 21
2013	Apr 25
2014	Apr 19
2015	Apr 27
2016	Apr 14
2017	Apr 23
2018	Apr 29
2019	Apr 29
2020	May 12
2021	Apr 25
2022	Apr 27
2024	Apr 22
2025	Apr 17

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1894	179
1895	138
1896	163
1897	159
1898	185
1899	165
1900	157
1903	167
1904	184
1905	175
1906	153
1907	136
1909	161
1910	179
1911	195
1912	159
1913	147
1914	188
1915	179
1916	172
1917	153
1918	176
1919	167
1920	166
1921	172
1922	179
1923	163
1924	192
1925	155
1926	152
1927	172
1928	149
1929	135
1930	174
1931	180
1932	161
1933	173
1934	183
1935	152
1936	182
1937	167
1938	184
1939	160
1940	159
1941	212
1942	157
1943	180
1944	158
1945	152
1946	191
1947	180
1948	190
1949	162
1950	155
1951	157
1952	170
1953	183
1954	163
1955	199
1956	191
1957	187
1958	154
1959	170
1960	184
1961	151
1962	190
1963	180
1964	179
1966	159
1967	144
1968	161
1969	167
1970	160
1971	203
1972	157
1973	199
1974	175
1976	176
1977	166
1978	159
1979	186
1980	178
1981	195
1982	182
1983	155
1984	180
1985	174
1986	166
1987	180
1988	163
1989	149
1990	183
1991	162
1992	177
1993	175
1994	200
1995	169
1996	185
1997	186
1998	225
1999	177
2000	176
2001	169
2002	189
2003	158
2004	150
2005	163
2006	158
2007	150
2008	170
2009	176
2010	147
2011	149
2012	155
2013	176
2014	174
2016	181
2017	188
2018	168
2019	165
2020	156
2021	180
2022	153
2024	175
2025	188

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1893	20.1 °C
1894	20.1 °C
1895	19.4 °C
1896	19.4 °C
1897	18.8 °C
1898	18.6 °C
1899	18.4 °C
1900	19.3 °C
1903	17.4 °C
1904	17.4 °C
1905	18.4 °C
1906	19.5 °C
1907	16.6 °C
1908	18.3 °C
1909	18.1 °C
1910	18.6 °C
1911	20.3 °C
1912	19.1 °C
1913	20.1 °C
1915	18.0 °C
1916	18.9 °C
1917	17.7 °C
1918	18.7 °C
1919	19.6 °C
1920	18.2 °C
1921	20.6 °C
1922	19.7 °C
1923	18.9 °C
1924	17.2 °C
1925	20.1 °C
1926	18.7 °C
1927	18.4 °C
1928	18.3 °C
1929	18.5 °C
1930	20.4 °C
1931	20.2 °C
1932	19.2 °C
1933	20.3 °C
1934	21.1 °C
1935	18.7 °C
1936	21.7 °C
1937	19.7 °C
1938	19.7 °C
1939	19.4 °C
1940	19.2 °C
1941	20.8 °C
1942	19.6 °C
1943	18.9 °C
1944	19.4 °C
1945	17.9 °C
1946	18.4 °C
1947	19.2 °C
1948	19.8 °C
1949	19.5 °C
1950	17.7 °C
1951	17.9 °C
1952	19.9 °C
1953	19.7 °C
1954	20.1 °C
1955	21.1 °C
1956	20.1 °C
1957	19.5 °C
1958	18.7 °C
1959	19.9 °C
1960	19.3 °C
1961	18.3 °C
1962	19.3 °C
1963	19.7 °C
1964	20.0 °C
1965	19.1 °C
1966	18.5 °C
1967	18.1 °C
1968	19.6 °C
1969	19.7 °C
1970	20.3 °C
1971	20.1 °C
1972	19.9 °C
1973	19.7 °C
1974	19.3 °C
1976	19.7 °C
1977	21.5 °C
1978	20.0 °C
1979	19.5 °C
1980	20.9 °C
1981	20.1 °C
1982	18.9 °C
1983	20.3 °C
1984	19.1 °C
1985	20.0 °C
1986	20.5 °C
1987	21.2 °C
1988	21.4 °C
1989	19.1 °C
1990	19.4 °C
1991	20.9 °C
1992	18.2 °C
1993	18.7 °C
1994	19.7 °C
1995	19.6 °C
1996	18.9 °C
1997	18.7 °C
1998	20.6 °C
1999	18.4 °C
2000	18.7 °C
2001	18.8 °C
2002	18.7 °C
2003	18.1 °C
2004	18.2 °C
2005	19.7 °C
2006	19.1 °C
2007	19.4 °C
2008	17.9 °C
2009	17.5 °C
2010	19.9 °C
2011	18.6 °C
2012	19.9 °C
2013	18.2 °C
2014	18.1 °C
2015	18.9 °C
2016	19.3 °C
2017	18.5 °C
2018	18.8 °C
2019	18.8 °C
2020	18.4 °C
2021	19.2 °C
2022	18.7 °C
2023	18.9 °C
2024	19.1 °C
2025	19.4 °C

What this means for you: Since 1893, Washington'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 Washington (NOAA GHCN-Daily). Years with too many missing days are left out.

Nearby towns

Kalona Wellman Riverside Columbus Junction Winfield Lone Tree