When to plant in Morrison, IL

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

Safe to plant out
May 14
1 year in 10 has a later frost
Average last frost
Apr 27
about a 50% chance of a later one
Average first fall frost
Oct 10
1 year in 10 by Sep 24
Frost-free days
166
median, 1991–2020

Station used: Morrison · 1.7 km away · station 193 m, town 207 m. How we match towns to stations

This season

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Planting dates for common crops

CropStart indoorsPlant out or sowHarvest from
Tomato Mar 19 – Apr 2 May 14 – May 28 Jul 8
Sweet pepper Mar 5 – Mar 19 May 14 – May 28 Jul 13
Lettuce (leaf) Feb 23 – Mar 2 Mar 30 – Apr 13 May 9
Peas — Mar 30 – Apr 27 May 24
Bush beans — May 7 – May 28 Jun 26
Carrot — Apr 9 – May 21 Jun 8
Beet — Apr 9 – May 21 May 29
Potato — Apr 9 – Apr 30 Jun 18
Kale Feb 23 – Mar 9 Apr 6 – Apr 20 May 19
Broccoli Feb 16 – Mar 2 Mar 30 – Apr 20 May 29
Cucumber Apr 16 – Apr 23 May 14 – May 28 Jul 3
Summer squash and zucchini Apr 16 – Apr 23 May 14 – May 28 Jun 28
Winter squash Apr 16 – Apr 23 May 14 – May 28 Aug 2
Sweet corn — May 7 – May 28 Jul 6
Onion (from sets) — Mar 30 – Apr 20 Jun 28
Garlic — Sep 26 – Oct 24 (fall) following summer
Spinach — Mar 30 – Apr 27 May 7
Basil Apr 2 – Apr 16 May 14 – May 28 Jul 10

Plan all 65 crops for Morrison

Morrison's weather over time

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

Apr 1Apr 15May 1May 15Jun 1 1900191019201930194019501960197019801990200020102020
Each year's last spring frostLong-term trend
See the data as a table
YearLast spring frost
1897May 31
1898Apr 27
1899Apr 20
1900May 4
1901Apr 21
1902Apr 24
1903May 1
1904Apr 21
1905Apr 22
1906May 9
1907May 16
1908May 3
1909May 4
1910May 14
1911May 4
1912Apr 23
1913May 11
1914Apr 20
1915Apr 17
1916May 2
1917May 23
1918May 1
1919Apr 26
1920May 14
1921May 16
1922Apr 29
1923May 8
1926Apr 26
1927Apr 24
1928May 12
1929May 19
1930Apr 26
1931Apr 30
1932Apr 18
1933Apr 27
1934Apr 28
1936Apr 23
1937Apr 16
1938Apr 22
1939May 3
1940Apr 19
1941Mar 30
1942Apr 20
1943May 1
1944May 5
1945May 9
1946Apr 27
1947May 9
1948Apr 17
1949Apr 24
1950May 1
1951Apr 23
1952Apr 16
1953Apr 27
1954May 20
1955Apr 8
1956Apr 30
1957May 5
1958May 7
1959Apr 22
1960May 1
1961May 1
1962Apr 20
1963May 23
1964Apr 15
1965May 29
1966May 10
1967May 3
1968Apr 15
1969Apr 29
1970Apr 10
1971Apr 30
1972Apr 26
1973Apr 14
1974Apr 24
1975Apr 21
1976May 4
1977Apr 30
1978May 6
1980May 10
1981May 12
1983May 9
1984Apr 24
1985Apr 10
1987Apr 9
1988Apr 21
1989May 7
1991Apr 2
1992May 27
1993Apr 22
1994May 2
1995Apr 25
1996May 2
1997May 16
1998Apr 19
1999Apr 19
2000Apr 12
2001Apr 19
2002May 21
2003Apr 23
2004May 3
2005May 5
2007Apr 16
2008Apr 30
2009Apr 16
2010Apr 18
2011May 4
2012Apr 23
2013May 13
2014Apr 23
2015May 1
2016Apr 14
2017Apr 7
2018Apr 29
2019Apr 28
2020May 12
2021May 12
2022Apr 28
2023Apr 27
2024Apr 22
2025Apr 16
2026May 7

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

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