When to plant in Beardstown, IL

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

Safe to plant out

May 3

1 year in 10 has a later frost

Average last frost

Apr 15

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Oct 20

1 year in 10 by Oct 7

Frost-free days

186

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Rushville · 16.8 km away · station 205 m, town 138 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 8 – Mar 22	May 3 – May 17	Jun 27
Sweet pepper	Feb 22 – Mar 8	May 3 – May 17	Jul 2
Lettuce (leaf)	Feb 13 – Feb 20	Mar 20 – Apr 3	Apr 29
Peas	—	Mar 20 – Apr 17	May 14
Bush beans	—	Apr 26 – May 17	Jun 15
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 6 – Feb 20	Mar 20 – Apr 10	May 19
Cucumber	Apr 5 – Apr 12	May 3 – May 17	Jun 22
Summer squash and zucchini	Apr 5 – Apr 12	May 3 – May 17	Jun 17
Winter squash	Apr 5 – Apr 12	May 3 – May 17	Jul 22
Sweet corn	—	Apr 26 – May 17	Jun 25
Onion (from sets)	—	Mar 20 – Apr 10	Jun 18
Garlic	—	Oct 6 – Nov 3 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Mar 20 – Apr 17	Apr 27
Basil	Mar 22 – Apr 5	May 3 – May 17	Jun 29

Plan all 65 crops for Beardstown

Beardstown'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	Mar 30
1895	Apr 3
1896	Apr 4
1902	Apr 15
1903	May 1
1904	Apr 20
1905	Apr 18
1906	May 9
1907	May 11
1908	May 2
1909	May 1
1910	Apr 24
1911	May 2
1912	Apr 19
1913	Apr 5
1914	Apr 20
1915	Apr 3
1916	Apr 9
1917	May 5
1918	May 1
1919	Apr 26
1920	Apr 14
1921	Apr 18
1922	Apr 20
1923	Apr 16
1924	Apr 2
1925	May 25
1926	Apr 19
1927	Apr 24
1928	Apr 28
1929	Apr 1
1931	May 7
1932	Apr 27
1933	Apr 27
1934	Apr 25
1935	Apr 16
1936	Apr 22
1937	Apr 11
1938	Apr 10
1939	Apr 13
1940	Apr 14
1941	Mar 29
1942	Apr 11
1943	Apr 19
1944	May 6
1945	Apr 19
1946	Apr 12
1947	Apr 21
1948	Apr 9
1949	Apr 19
1950	Apr 21
1951	Apr 22
1952	Apr 15
1954	May 4
1955	Apr 7
1957	Apr 15
1958	Apr 29
1959	Apr 22
1961	May 2
1962	Apr 17
1963	Apr 23
1964	Apr 9
1965	Apr 16
1966	May 10
1967	Apr 24
1968	Apr 25
1970	May 2
1971	Apr 7
1972	Apr 25
1973	Apr 13
1975	Apr 7
1976	May 4
1977	Apr 6
1978	May 2
1979	Apr 10
1980	Apr 15
1981	Apr 6
1982	Apr 21
1983	Apr 20
1984	Apr 3
1985	Apr 9
1986	Apr 22
1989	Apr 13
1990	Apr 18
1991	Mar 30
1992	Apr 5
1993	Apr 17
1994	Apr 7
1995	Apr 6
1997	Apr 17
1998	Apr 5
1999	Apr 16
2001	Apr 18
2002	May 25
2003	Apr 10
2005	May 4
2006	Apr 8
2007	Apr 15
2008	Apr 29
2009	Apr 13
2010	Mar 27
2011	May 5
2012	Apr 12
2013	Apr 21
2014	Apr 16
2015	Apr 5
2016	Apr 13

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1893	174
1894	192
1895	188
1896	172
1902	181
1903	174
1904	185
1905	176
1906	153
1907	154
1908	149
1909	163
1910	180
1911	174
1912	186
1913	198
1914	189
1915	188
1916	193
1917	155
1918	183
1919	184
1920	197
1921	172
1922	179
1923	187
1924	202
1925	137
1926	188
1927	194
1928	150
1929	204
1931	180
1932	161
1933	180
1934	185
1935	170
1936	183
1937	185
1938	196
1939	183
1940	206
1941	212
1942	169
1943	180
1944	182
1945	172
1946	182
1947	200
1948	177
1949	188
1950	196
1951	191
1952	170
1954	176
1955	205
1957	194
1958	154
1959	172
1961	176
1963	188
1964	179
1965	190
1966	148
1967	157
1968	182
1970	160
1971	210
1972	172
1973	203
1975	195
1976	164
1977	189
1978	158
1979	177
1980	172
1981	195
1982	182
1983	155
1984	178
1985	174
1986	197
1989	202
1991	190
1992	194
1993	174
1995	167
1997	187
1998	214
1999	184
2002	141
2003	174
2005	174
2006	186
2007	199
2008	181
2009	180
2010	215
2011	176
2012	197
2013	184
2014	198
2015	194
2016	212

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1893	20.9 °C
1894	21.7 °C
1895	21.4 °C
1896	21.0 °C
1902	19.4 °C
1903	19.5 °C
1904	18.4 °C
1905	20.1 °C
1906	20.6 °C
1907	18.2 °C
1908	19.9 °C
1909	19.2 °C
1910	19.0 °C
1911	20.8 °C
1912	20.1 °C
1913	21.2 °C
1914	21.4 °C
1915	18.8 °C
1916	20.3 °C
1917	18.4 °C
1918	20.0 °C
1919	20.7 °C
1920	19.2 °C
1921	21.6 °C
1922	21.0 °C
1923	20.0 °C
1924	18.7 °C
1925	21.0 °C
1926	19.3 °C
1927	19.1 °C
1928	18.9 °C
1929	19.3 °C
1931	20.8 °C
1932	20.3 °C
1933	21.2 °C
1934	22.1 °C
1935	19.1 °C
1936	22.4 °C
1937	20.3 °C
1938	20.8 °C
1939	20.2 °C
1940	19.3 °C
1941	21.2 °C
1942	19.8 °C
1943	19.6 °C
1944	20.1 °C
1945	18.6 °C
1946	19.2 °C
1947	19.9 °C
1948	20.5 °C
1949	20.2 °C
1950	18.6 °C
1951	19.8 °C
1952	20.4 °C
1954	21.3 °C
1955	21.5 °C
1957	20.3 °C
1958	19.2 °C
1959	21.2 °C
1961	18.4 °C
1962	20.3 °C
1963	20.5 °C
1964	20.8 °C
1965	20.4 °C
1966	18.8 °C
1967	18.4 °C
1968	19.4 °C
1970	20.0 °C
1971	19.6 °C
1972	19.7 °C
1973	19.6 °C
1975	19.7 °C
1976	19.3 °C
1977	21.1 °C
1978	20.3 °C
1979	19.9 °C
1980	20.6 °C
1981	19.9 °C
1982	19.0 °C
1983	20.3 °C
1984	19.5 °C
1985	20.1 °C
1986	20.3 °C
1989	19.0 °C
1991	20.5 °C
1992	18.0 °C
1993	19.0 °C
1994	19.1 °C
1995	18.9 °C
1997	18.4 °C
1999	20.1 °C
2003	19.0 °C
2005	20.4 °C
2006	20.2 °C
2007	20.3 °C
2008	18.5 °C
2009	18.5 °C
2011	19.4 °C
2012	20.4 °C
2013	18.8 °C
2014	18.6 °C
2015	19.6 °C
2016	19.8 °C

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

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