When to plant in Marissa, IL

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

Safe to plant out

Apr 24

1 year in 10 has a later frost

Average last frost

Apr 11

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Oct 15

1 year in 10 by Oct 4

Frost-free days

190

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Sparta 1 W · 15.1 km away · station 163 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	Feb 27 – Mar 13	Apr 24 – May 8	Jun 18
Sweet pepper	Feb 13 – Feb 27	Apr 24 – May 8	Jun 23
Lettuce (leaf)	Feb 7 – Feb 14	Mar 14 – Mar 28	Apr 23
Peas	—	Mar 9 – Apr 6	May 3
Bush beans	—	Apr 17 – May 8	Jun 6
Carrot	—	Mar 21 – May 2	May 20
Beet	—	Mar 21 – May 2	May 10
Potato	—	Mar 21 – Apr 11	May 30
Kale	Feb 2 – Feb 16	Mar 16 – Mar 30	Apr 28
Broccoli	Jan 31 – Feb 14	Mar 14 – Apr 4	May 13
Cucumber	Mar 27 – Apr 3	Apr 24 – May 8	Jun 13
Summer squash and zucchini	Mar 27 – Apr 3	Apr 24 – May 8	Jun 8
Winter squash	Mar 27 – Apr 3	Apr 24 – May 8	Jul 13
Sweet corn	—	Apr 17 – May 8	Jun 16
Onion (from sets)	—	Mar 14 – Apr 4	Jun 12
Garlic	—	Oct 1 – Oct 29 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Mar 9 – Apr 6	Apr 16
Basil	Mar 13 – Mar 27	Apr 24 – May 8	Jun 20

Plan all 65 crops for Marissa

Marissa'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 15
1894	Apr 12
1895	Mar 21
1896	Apr 3
1897	Mar 27
1898	Apr 7
1899	Apr 9
1900	Apr 12
1901	Apr 21
1902	Apr 15
1903	May 4
1904	Apr 21
1905	Apr 22
1906	May 7
1907	Apr 21
1908	Apr 3
1909	May 2
1910	Apr 25
1911	Apr 9
1912	Apr 2
1914	Apr 12
1915	Apr 3
1916	Apr 9
1917	Apr 14
1918	Apr 13
1919	Apr 26
1920	Apr 14
1921	Apr 18
1922	Mar 22
1923	Apr 9
1924	Apr 2
1925	Mar 20
1926	Apr 20
1927	Apr 23
1928	Apr 16
1929	May 2
1930	Mar 31
1931	Apr 7
1932	Apr 13
1933	Mar 26
1934	Apr 28
1935	Apr 16
1936	Apr 23
1937	Apr 10
1938	Apr 10
1939	Apr 13
1940	Apr 14
1941	Mar 29
1942	Apr 1
1943	Apr 15
1944	May 7
1945	Apr 6
1946	Mar 11
1947	Mar 31
1948	Mar 28
1949	Apr 16
1950	Apr 15
1951	Apr 17
1952	Apr 7
1953	Apr 20
1954	Apr 3
1955	Mar 29
1956	Apr 23
1957	Apr 14
1958	Mar 22
1959	Apr 13
1960	Apr 10
1961	Apr 16
1962	Apr 16
1963	Apr 24
1964	Apr 9
1965	Mar 31
1966	May 10
1967	Mar 22
1968	Apr 6
1969	Mar 31
1970	Apr 8
1971	Apr 7
1972	Apr 9
1973	Apr 13
1974	Apr 9
1975	Apr 12
1976	May 3
1977	Mar 22
1978	May 2
1979	Apr 6
1980	Apr 15
1981	Mar 24
1982	Apr 22
1983	Apr 20
1984	Apr 1
1985	Apr 9
1986	Apr 22
1987	Apr 4
1988	Apr 19
1989	Apr 11
1990	Apr 18
1991	Apr 1
1994	Apr 8
1995	Apr 6
1996	Apr 11
1997	Apr 19
1998	Mar 25
1999	Mar 28
2000	Apr 14
2001	Apr 19
2002	Apr 7
2004	Apr 15
2005	Mar 21
2006	May 13
2007	Apr 14
2008	Apr 30
2012	Apr 13

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1893	197
1894	179
1895	201
1896	197
1897	223
1898	198
1899	173
1900	187
1901	166
1902	151
1903	166
1904	184
1905	172
1906	155
1907	174
1909	162
1910	185
1911	205
1912	203
1914	197
1915	188
1916	184
1917	177
1918	201
1919	189
1920	197
1921	172
1922	231
1923	194
1924	202
1925	203
1926	187
1927	196
1928	160
1929	186
1930	202
1931	212
1932	180
1933	226
1934	182
1935	172
1936	183
1937	186
1938	211
1939	184
1940	206
1941	212
1942	179
1943	184
1944	181
1945	211
1946	245
1947	221
1948	203
1949	193
1950	203
1951	185
1952	182
1953	191
1954	209
1955	218
1956	199
1957	187
1958	193
1959	187
1960	192
1961	201
1962	190
1963	187
1964	183
1965	206
1966	159
1967	202
1968	181
1969	197
1970	191
1971	210
1972	192
1973	205
1974	175
1975	214
1976	166
1977	204
1978	167
1979	186
1980	172
1981	212
1982	181
1983	198
1984	214
1985	175
1986	201
1987	190
1988	169
1989	191
1990	190
1991	197
1994	199
1995	169
1996	190
1997	178
1998	210
1999	190
2000	175
2001	180
2002	189
2004	172
2005	218
2006	159
2007	197

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1893	20.8 °C
1894	21.2 °C
1895	21.5 °C
1896	22.4 °C
1898	21.3 °C
1899	21.3 °C
1900	21.8 °C
1901	21.3 °C
1902	20.6 °C
1903	20.5 °C
1904	19.3 °C
1905	21.0 °C
1906	21.4 °C
1907	19.6 °C
1909	21.3 °C
1910	20.1 °C
1911	22.3 °C
1912	21.2 °C
1914	22.8 °C
1915	21.0 °C
1916	21.4 °C
1917	20.0 °C
1918	21.5 °C
1919	21.5 °C
1920	20.4 °C
1921	22.4 °C
1922	22.3 °C
1923	21.8 °C
1924	20.5 °C
1925	22.7 °C
1926	21.7 °C
1927	21.0 °C
1928	20.4 °C
1929	21.0 °C
1930	22.8 °C
1931	22.6 °C
1932	22.5 °C
1933	23.1 °C
1934	23.2 °C
1935	20.6 °C
1936	23.6 °C
1937	21.8 °C
1938	22.5 °C
1939	21.9 °C
1940	21.3 °C
1941	23.1 °C
1942	21.6 °C
1943	21.9 °C
1944	22.1 °C
1945	20.9 °C
1946	21.5 °C
1947	21.6 °C
1948	21.8 °C
1949	21.0 °C
1950	20.3 °C
1951	20.7 °C
1952	22.3 °C
1953	23.0 °C
1954	23.7 °C
1955	22.9 °C
1956	22.0 °C
1957	21.8 °C
1958	21.2 °C
1959	22.2 °C
1960	21.8 °C
1961	20.3 °C
1962	21.9 °C
1963	21.8 °C
1964	22.4 °C
1965	22.1 °C
1966	20.4 °C
1967	20.0 °C
1968	20.8 °C
1969	20.9 °C
1970	21.7 °C
1971	21.1 °C
1972	21.2 °C
1973	21.4 °C
1974	20.9 °C
1975	21.2 °C
1976	20.6 °C
1977	23.1 °C
1978	22.1 °C
1979	21.1 °C
1980	22.7 °C
1981	21.6 °C
1982	20.8 °C
1983	21.7 °C
1984	21.0 °C
1985	21.4 °C
1986	22.5 °C
1987	22.9 °C
1988	22.4 °C
1989	21.1 °C
1990	20.9 °C
1991	22.5 °C
1994	19.6 °C
1995	20.1 °C
1996	19.5 °C
1997	18.9 °C
1998	21.7 °C
1999	20.6 °C
2000	20.3 °C
2001	20.8 °C
2002	20.9 °C
2004	19.5 °C
2005	21.4 °C
2006	20.6 °C
2007	21.0 °C
2012	21.2 °C

What this means for you: Since 1893, Marissa'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 Sparta 1 W (NOAA GHCN-Daily). Years with too many missing days are left out.

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