When to plant in Gibson City, IL

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

Safe to plant out

May 4

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 15

1 year in 10 by Oct 1

Frost-free days

176

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Rantoul · 25.0 km away · station 226 m, town 221 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 9 – Mar 23	May 4 – May 18	Jun 28
Sweet pepper	Feb 23 – Mar 9	May 4 – May 18	Jul 3
Lettuce (leaf)	Feb 16 – Feb 23	Mar 23 – Apr 6	May 2
Peas	—	Mar 23 – Apr 20	May 17
Bush beans	—	Apr 27 – May 18	Jun 16
Carrot	—	Apr 1 – May 13	May 31
Beet	—	Apr 1 – May 13	May 21
Potato	—	Apr 1 – Apr 22	Jun 10
Kale	Feb 16 – Mar 2	Mar 30 – Apr 13	May 12
Broccoli	Feb 9 – Feb 23	Mar 23 – Apr 13	May 22
Cucumber	Apr 6 – Apr 13	May 4 – May 18	Jun 23
Summer squash and zucchini	Apr 6 – Apr 13	May 4 – May 18	Jun 18
Winter squash	Apr 6 – Apr 13	May 4 – May 18	Jul 23
Sweet corn	—	Apr 27 – May 18	Jun 26
Onion (from sets)	—	Mar 23 – Apr 13	Jun 21
Garlic	—	Oct 1 – Oct 29 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Mar 23 – Apr 20	Apr 30
Basil	Mar 23 – Apr 6	May 4 – May 18	Jun 30

Plan all 65 crops for Gibson City

Gibson City'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
1897	May 1
1900	Apr 14
1901	Apr 21
1902	Apr 20
1903	May 2
1904	Apr 21
1906	May 9
1907	May 11
1908	May 2
1909	May 2
1910	May 14
1911	May 3
1912	Apr 19
1948	Apr 17
1949	Apr 16
1950	Apr 21
1951	Apr 23
1952	Apr 11
1953	Apr 20
1954	May 4
1955	Apr 8
1956	Apr 24
1957	Apr 15
1958	Apr 30
1959	Apr 22
1960	May 12
1961	Apr 16
1962	Apr 20
1964	Apr 9
1965	Apr 3
1966	May 10
1967	Apr 24
1968	Apr 15
1969	Apr 24
1970	Apr 10
1971	Apr 14
1972	Apr 25
1973	Apr 28
1974	Apr 25
1975	Apr 16
1976	May 3
1977	Apr 29
1978	May 3
1979	Apr 10
1980	Apr 16
1981	May 20
1982	Apr 21
1988	Apr 28
1989	May 7
1990	Apr 18
1991	Apr 21
1992	May 7
1993	Apr 21
1995	Apr 10
1996	Apr 27
1997	Apr 24
1998	Apr 17
1999	Apr 13
2000	Apr 29
2001	Apr 19
2002	May 21
2003	Apr 11
2004	Apr 14
2005	May 3
2006	Apr 10
2007	Apr 16
2008	Apr 15
2009	Apr 15
2010	Apr 10
2011	Apr 20
2012	Apr 12
2013	Apr 20
2014	Apr 17
2015	Apr 23
2016	Apr 12
2017	Apr 8
2018	Apr 29
2019	Apr 16
2020	May 9
2021	Apr 22
2022	Apr 26
2023	Apr 26

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1897	180
1900	205
1901	164
1902	176
1903	168
1904	184
1906	153
1907	154
1908	159
1909	162
1910	166
1911	173
1912	186
1948	182
1949	192
1950	194
1951	188
1952	177
1953	197
1954	178
1955	199
1956	197
1957	192
1958	163
1959	172
1960	159
1961	192
1962	186
1964	179
1965	203
1966	159
1967	179
1968	171
1969	173
1970	188
1971	203
1972	172
1973	188
1974	159
1975	169
1976	165
1977	166
1979	177
1980	171
1981	151
1988	160
1989	138
1990	174
1992	162
1993	161
1995	187
1996	164
1998	175
1999	174
2000	149
2001	158
2002	138
2003	173
2004	173
2005	171
2006	184
2007	194
2008	195
2009	176
2010	195
2011	183
2012	176
2013	184
2014	196
2015	200
2016	213
2017	203
2018	166
2019	177
2020	147
2021	191
2022	163
2023	186

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1897	18.9 °C
1900	20.1 °C
1901	19.6 °C
1902	19.2 °C
1903	19.1 °C
1904	17.9 °C
1906	20.2 °C
1907	17.4 °C
1908	19.8 °C
1909	18.6 °C
1910	18.6 °C
1911	20.1 °C
1912	19.1 °C
1948	19.9 °C
1949	19.6 °C
1950	18.0 °C
1951	18.3 °C
1952	20.1 °C
1953	20.0 °C
1954	20.5 °C
1955	20.7 °C
1956	19.3 °C
1957	19.2 °C
1958	18.2 °C
1959	19.8 °C
1960	18.9 °C
1961	18.6 °C
1962	18.8 °C
1964	19.7 °C
1965	20.0 °C
1966	19.1 °C
1967	18.9 °C
1969	19.8 °C
1970	20.3 °C
1971	20.0 °C
1972	19.9 °C
1973	19.5 °C
1974	18.3 °C
1975	18.7 °C
1976	18.4 °C
1977	20.3 °C
1979	18.4 °C
1980	19.4 °C
1981	18.7 °C
1982	18.2 °C
1988	19.8 °C
1989	18.4 °C
1990	18.4 °C
1991	21.7 °C
1992	17.5 °C
1993	18.8 °C
1995	19.8 °C
1996	18.3 °C
1997	17.3 °C
1998	19.8 °C
1999	19.6 °C
2000	18.6 °C
2001	18.9 °C
2002	18.8 °C
2003	19.3 °C
2004	19.2 °C
2005	20.8 °C
2006	20.0 °C
2007	20.9 °C
2008	19.4 °C
2009	19.0 °C
2010	21.5 °C
2011	19.7 °C
2012	21.2 °C
2013	19.9 °C
2014	19.5 °C
2015	19.9 °C
2016	20.1 °C
2017	20.7 °C
2018	20.7 °C
2019	19.3 °C
2020	18.6 °C
2021	19.8 °C
2022	19.4 °C
2023	19.6 °C

What this means for you: Since 1897, Gibson City'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 Rantoul (NOAA GHCN-Daily). Years with too many missing days are left out.

Nearby towns

Fisher Colfax Paxton Rantoul Lake of the Woods Mahomet