When to plant in Ashland, IL

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

Safe to plant out
May 7
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 14
1 year in 10 by Oct 2
Frost-free days
178
median, 1991–2020

Station used: Jacksonville 2e · 23.5 km away · station 186 m, town 193 m. How we match towns to stations

This season

Plan your garden.

Build my Ashland plan

Planting dates for common crops

CropStart indoorsPlant out or sowHarvest from
Tomato Mar 12 – Mar 26 May 7 – May 21 Jul 1
Sweet pepper Feb 26 – Mar 12 May 7 – May 21 Jul 6
Lettuce (leaf) Feb 16 – Feb 23 Mar 23 – Apr 6 May 2
Peas — Mar 20 – Apr 17 May 14
Bush beans — Apr 30 – May 21 Jun 19
Carrot — Mar 30 – May 11 May 29
Beet — Mar 30 – May 11 May 19
Potato — Mar 30 – Apr 20 Jun 8
Kale Feb 13 – Feb 27 Mar 27 – Apr 10 May 9
Broccoli Feb 9 – Feb 23 Mar 23 – Apr 13 May 22
Cucumber Apr 9 – Apr 16 May 7 – May 21 Jun 26
Summer squash and zucchini Apr 9 – Apr 16 May 7 – May 21 Jun 21
Winter squash Apr 9 – Apr 16 May 7 – May 21 Jul 26
Sweet corn — Apr 30 – May 21 Jun 29
Onion (from sets) — Mar 23 – Apr 13 Jun 21
Garlic — Sep 30 – Oct 28 (fall) following summer
Spinach — Mar 20 – Apr 17 Apr 27
Basil Mar 26 – Apr 9 May 7 – May 21 Jul 3

Plan all 65 crops for Ashland

Ashland's weather over time

How the growing season has shifted here, year by year, from the station's own records.

Apr 1Apr 15May 1May 15 1900191019201930194019501960197019801990200020102020
Each year's last spring frostLong-term trend
See the data as a table
YearLast spring frost
1896Apr 7
1897May 1
1898Apr 7
1899Apr 16
1900Apr 14
1901Apr 21
1902Apr 16
1903May 1
1904Apr 21
1905Apr 22
1906May 9
1907May 11
1908May 2
1909Apr 13
1910May 4
1911May 2
1912Apr 19
1913Apr 15
1914Apr 12
1915Apr 13
1916Apr 23
1917May 5
1918May 1
1919Apr 26
1920Apr 17
1921Apr 18
1922Apr 20
1923Apr 16
1924Apr 11
1925May 25
1926Apr 26
1927Apr 25
1928Apr 28
1929Apr 1
1930Apr 25
1931May 7
1932May 2
1933Apr 27
1934May 25
1935Apr 16
1936Apr 23
1937Apr 11
1938Apr 10
1939Apr 22
1940May 4
1941Mar 29
1942Apr 20
1943Apr 21
1944May 7
1945Apr 19
1946Apr 27
1947Apr 17
1948Apr 9
1949Apr 19
1950Apr 26
1951Apr 23
1952Apr 16
1953Apr 21
1954May 4
1955Apr 8
1956Apr 24
1957Apr 14
1958Apr 29
1959Apr 22
1960Apr 10
1961Apr 16
1962Apr 16
1963Apr 24
1964Apr 9
1965Mar 31
1966May 10
1967Apr 24
1968Apr 25
1969Apr 29
1970Apr 5
1971Apr 30
1972Apr 25
1973Apr 14
1974Apr 24
1975Apr 21
1976Apr 26
1977Apr 7
1978May 4
1979Apr 11
1980Apr 25
1981Apr 7
1982Apr 22
1984Apr 7
1985Apr 10
1986Apr 23
1987Apr 10
1988Apr 20
1989Apr 14
1990Apr 19
1991Mar 31
1992May 7
1993Apr 21
1994Apr 23
1995Apr 26
1996May 12
1997May 16
1998Apr 19
1999Mar 30
2000Apr 30
2001Apr 19
2002Apr 8
2003Apr 12
2004Apr 15
2005May 5
2006Apr 10
2007Apr 16
2008Apr 30
2009Apr 13
2010Apr 10
2011May 5
2012Apr 13
2013Apr 21
2014Apr 16
2015Apr 5
2016Apr 14
2017Mar 31
2018Apr 21
2019Apr 20
2020May 10
2021Apr 23
2022Apr 20
2023Apr 25
2024Apr 7
2025Apr 9
2026Apr 21

What this means for you: Since 1896, Ashland'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 Jacksonville 2e (NOAA GHCN-Daily). Years with too many missing days are left out.

Nearby towns