When to plant in Winfield, IA

Planting dates worked out from Winfield'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 20

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Oct 9

1 year in 10 by Sep 23

Frost-free days

171

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Columbus Junction · 18.4 km away · station 180 m, town 210 m. How we match towns to stations

This season

Plan your garden.

Build my Winfield 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 18 – Feb 25	Mar 25 – Apr 8	May 4
Peas	—	Mar 25 – Apr 22	May 19
Bush beans	—	Apr 28 – May 19	Jun 17
Carrot	—	Apr 2 – May 14	Jun 1
Beet	—	Apr 2 – May 14	May 22
Potato	—	Apr 2 – Apr 23	Jun 11
Kale	Feb 18 – Mar 4	Apr 1 – Apr 15	May 14
Broccoli	Feb 11 – Feb 25	Mar 25 – Apr 15	May 24
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 25 – Apr 15	Jun 23
Garlic	—	Sep 25 – Oct 23 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Mar 25 – Apr 22	May 2
Basil	Mar 24 – Apr 7	May 5 – May 19	Jul 1

Plan all 65 crops for Winfield

Winfield'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
1901	Apr 20
1902	Jun 22
1903	May 1
1904	Apr 25
1905	Apr 18
1906	May 7
1907	May 11
1908	May 2
1909	May 3
1910	Apr 25
1912	Apr 19
1913	Apr 28
1914	Apr 20
1915	Apr 4
1916	Apr 9
1917	May 4
1918	May 1
1919	Apr 25
1920	Apr 16
1921	Apr 18
1922	Apr 20
1923	Apr 17
1924	Apr 12
1926	Apr 26
1927	Apr 24
1928	Apr 28
1929	May 5
1930	Apr 25
1931	May 7
1932	May 2
1933	Apr 27
1934	Apr 25
1935	May 4
1936	Apr 22
1937	Apr 9
1938	Apr 10
1939	Apr 22
1940	May 1
1941	Apr 22
1942	May 16
1943	Apr 21
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 16
1953	Apr 27
1954	May 7
1955	Apr 8
1956	Apr 30
1957	Apr 15
1958	May 7
1959	Apr 22
1960	Apr 18
1961	May 2
1962	Apr 16
1963	May 23
1964	Apr 15
1965	Apr 19
1966	May 10
1967	May 7
1968	Apr 25
1969	Apr 29
1970	May 2
1971	May 13
1972	Apr 25
1973	May 15
1974	Apr 24
1975	Apr 13
1976	May 3
1977	Apr 29
1978	May 2
1979	Apr 28
1980	Apr 16
1981	May 12
1982	Apr 21
1983	Apr 20
1984	Apr 30
1985	Apr 9
1986	Apr 22
1987	Apr 5
1988	Apr 24
1989	May 7
1990	Apr 18
1991	Apr 10
1992	May 6
1993	Apr 17
1994	Apr 30
1995	Apr 22
1996	Apr 30
1997	Apr 18
1998	Mar 24
1999	Apr 12
2000	Apr 12
2001	Apr 18
2002	Apr 22
2003	Apr 10
2005	May 4
2006	May 6
2007	Apr 16
2021	Apr 23
2022	Apr 26
2023	Apr 26
2024	Apr 21

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1901	166
1902	113
1903	162
1904	180
1906	155
1907	153
1908	149
1909	161
1910	179
1912	159
1913	146
1914	188
1915	187
1916	172
1917	156
1918	176
1919	168
1920	194
1921	172
1922	179
1923	185
1926	152
1927	172
1928	150
1929	170
1930	174
1931	178
1932	156
1933	168
1934	185
1935	152
1936	182
1937	181
1938	196
1939	160
1940	147
1941	188
1942	130
1943	176
1944	158
1945	152
1946	156
1947	180
1948	190
1949	162
1950	155
1951	157
1952	169
1953	147
1955	156
1956	142
1957	165
1958	146
1959	172
1960	184
1961	174
1962	190
1963	158
1964	173
1965	187
1966	148
1967	144
1968	161
1969	167
1970	154
1971	146
1972	157
1973	167
1974	150
1975	165
1976	155
1977	166
1978	158
1979	167
1980	178
1981	159
1982	177
1983	155
1984	148
1985	174
1986	174
1987	180
1988	163
1989	149
1990	183
1991	161
1992	139
1993	175
1994	162
1995	152
1996	171
1997	184
1998	211
1999	188
2000	177
2001	170
2002	173
2003	171
2005	171
2006	158
2021	191
2022	165
2023	186
2024	177

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1901	21.0 °C
1903	18.4 °C
1904	17.6 °C
1906	19.8 °C
1907	17.5 °C
1908	19.1 °C
1909	18.6 °C
1910	18.8 °C
1913	20.1 °C
1914	20.3 °C
1915	18.4 °C
1916	19.1 °C
1917	17.9 °C
1918	19.0 °C
1919	19.9 °C
1920	19.0 °C
1921	20.9 °C
1922	20.3 °C
1923	19.3 °C
1924	17.9 °C
1927	17.9 °C
1929	17.8 °C
1930	19.3 °C
1931	19.3 °C
1932	18.6 °C
1933	19.6 °C
1934	20.4 °C
1935	17.7 °C
1936	20.7 °C
1937	19.6 °C
1938	19.7 °C
1939	19.3 °C
1940	18.6 °C
1941	20.2 °C
1942	19.3 °C
1943	18.5 °C
1944	19.0 °C
1945	17.7 °C
1946	18.0 °C
1947	19.1 °C
1948	19.1 °C
1949	19.2 °C
1950	17.4 °C
1951	17.7 °C
1952	18.7 °C
1953	18.9 °C
1954	19.4 °C
1955	20.1 °C
1956	19.6 °C
1957	19.1 °C
1958	18.4 °C
1959	19.8 °C
1960	19.4 °C
1961	18.4 °C
1962	19.8 °C
1963	19.9 °C
1964	20.1 °C
1965	19.0 °C
1966	18.2 °C
1967	17.9 °C
1968	19.0 °C
1969	19.1 °C
1970	19.7 °C
1971	19.3 °C
1972	19.2 °C
1973	19.0 °C
1974	18.4 °C
1975	19.0 °C
1976	19.0 °C
1977	20.7 °C
1978	19.6 °C
1979	18.9 °C
1980	20.2 °C
1981	19.4 °C
1982	18.7 °C
1983	19.9 °C
1984	18.9 °C
1985	19.8 °C
1986	20.0 °C
1987	21.1 °C
1988	21.2 °C
1989	18.4 °C
1990	18.6 °C
1991	20.3 °C
1992	17.5 °C
1993	18.1 °C
1994	18.7 °C
1995	18.7 °C
1996	17.6 °C
1997	17.8 °C
1998	19.7 °C
1999	19.2 °C
2000	19.3 °C
2001	19.4 °C
2002	19.4 °C
2003	18.8 °C
2006	19.5 °C
2020	18.9 °C
2021	19.4 °C
2022	18.8 °C
2023	19.3 °C
2024	19.8 °C

What this means for you: Since 1901, Winfield'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 Columbus Junction (NOAA GHCN-Daily). Years with too many missing days are left out.

Nearby towns

Columbus Junction Mount Pleasant New London Wapello Mediapolis Washington