When to plant in Rockton, IL

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

Safe to plant out

May 5

1 year in 10 has a later frost

Average last frost

Apr 23

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Oct 14

1 year in 10 by Oct 2

Frost-free days

175

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Beloit · 6.6 km away · station 240 m, town 225 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 10 – Mar 24	May 5 – May 19	Jun 29
Sweet pepper	Feb 24 – Mar 10	May 5 – May 19	Jul 4
Lettuce (leaf)	Feb 28 – Mar 7	Apr 4 – Apr 18	May 14
Peas	—	Apr 4 – May 2	May 29
Bush beans	—	Apr 28 – May 19	Jun 17
Carrot	—	Apr 14 – May 26	Jun 13
Beet	—	Apr 14 – May 26	Jun 3
Potato	—	Apr 14 – May 5	Jun 23
Kale	Feb 28 – Mar 14	Apr 11 – Apr 25	May 24
Broccoli	Feb 21 – Mar 7	Apr 4 – Apr 25	Jun 3
Cucumber	Apr 7 – Apr 14	May 5 – May 19	Jun 24
Summer squash and zucchini	Apr 7 – Apr 14	May 5 – May 19	Jun 19
Winter squash	Apr 7 – Apr 14	May 5 – May 19	Jul 24
Sweet corn	—	Apr 28 – May 19	Jun 27
Onion (from sets)	—	Apr 4 – Apr 25	Jul 3
Garlic	—	Sep 30 – Oct 28 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Apr 4 – May 2	May 12
Basil	Mar 24 – Apr 7	May 5 – May 19	Jul 1

Plan all 65 crops for Rockton

Rockton'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 24
1894	Apr 13
1895	May 27
1896	Apr 10
1898	Apr 7
1899	Apr 16
1900	May 5
1901	Apr 21
1903	May 1
1904	Apr 20
1906	May 9
1907	May 11
1911	May 2
1912	Apr 30
1913	May 11
1914	Apr 20
1915	May 19
1916	May 2
1917	May 23
1918	May 1
1919	Apr 26
1920	May 14
1921	May 16
1922	Apr 29
1923	May 13
1924	May 20
1925	May 26
1926	May 15
1927	Apr 24
1928	Apr 28
1929	May 19
1930	Apr 26
1931	Apr 30
1932	May 2
1933	Apr 27
1934	Apr 28
1935	May 4
1936	Apr 23
1937	Apr 16
1938	Apr 10
1939	May 2
1940	May 4
1941	Apr 22
1942	Apr 19
1943	May 1
1945	May 9
1946	Apr 27
1947	May 9
1948	Apr 17
1949	Apr 19
1950	Apr 28
1951	Apr 23
1952	Apr 16
1953	Apr 21
1954	May 7
1955	Apr 7
1956	Apr 30
1957	Apr 15
1958	Apr 29
1959	Apr 22
1960	Apr 18
1961	May 1
1962	Apr 20
1963	May 1
1964	Apr 15
1965	Apr 27
1966	May 11
1967	Apr 25
1968	Apr 15
1969	Apr 29
1970	May 7
1971	May 3
1972	Apr 26
1973	Apr 13
1975	Apr 22
1978	May 2
1979	May 1
1980	May 7
1981	May 12
1982	Apr 22
1983	Apr 20
1984	Apr 19
1985	Apr 10
1986	Apr 23
1987	Apr 5
1988	Apr 22
1989	May 7
1990	Apr 19
1991	Apr 3
1992	May 5
1993	Apr 22
1994	Apr 8
1995	Apr 15
1996	Apr 18
1997	Apr 19
1998	Apr 18
1999	Mar 28
2000	Apr 13
2001	Apr 19
2002	May 22
2003	Apr 14
2004	May 4
2005	May 6
2006	Apr 27
2007	Apr 17
2008	Apr 15
2009	Apr 13
2010	Apr 29
2011	May 5
2012	Apr 28
2013	Apr 22
2014	Apr 24
2015	Apr 27
2016	Apr 13
2017	May 4
2018	Apr 30
2019	Apr 29
2020	May 11
2021	Apr 23
2022	Apr 28
2023	Apr 27
2024	Apr 25
2025	Apr 9

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1893	154
1894	175
1895	125
1896	179
1898	190
1899	165
1901	164
1903	169
1904	185
1906	153
1912	151
1913	134
1914	187
1915	139
1916	136
1917	130
1918	148
1919	173
1920	139
1921	144
1922	168
1923	123
1924	153
1925	133
1926	132
1927	177
1928	147
1929	158
1930	173
1931	164
1932	156
1933	168
1934	182
1935	150
1936	161
1937	174
1938	196
1941	188
1942	158
1943	155
1945	146
1946	190
1947	143
1948	182
1949	163
1950	188
1951	167
1952	169
1953	168
1955	197
1956	142
1957	186
1960	184
1961	153
1962	186
1963	184
1964	174
1965	183
1966	147
1967	169
1968	171
1969	149
1971	181
1972	171
1978	158
1979	156
1980	149
1981	143
1982	181
1983	175
1984	162
1985	178
1987	180
1988	166
1990	173
1991	175
1992	164
1993	160
1994	201
1995	160
1996	175
1997	178
1998	186
1999	199
2000	176
2001	170
2002	144
2003	170
2004	153
2005	169
2006	167
2007	193
2008	189
2009	179
2010	175
2011	150
2012	161
2013	181
2014	169
2015	172
2016	212
2017	176
2018	165
2019	178
2021	191
2022	162
2023	185
2024	173
2025	197

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1893	17.0 °C
1894	18.7 °C
1895	18.6 °C
1896	18.8 °C
1899	18.1 °C
1900	18.1 °C
1901	18.4 °C
1903	17.2 °C
1904	16.6 °C
1906	17.7 °C
1912	17.2 °C
1913	17.8 °C
1914	17.9 °C
1915	16.6 °C
1916	17.5 °C
1917	16.1 °C
1918	17.6 °C
1919	18.5 °C
1920	17.4 °C
1921	20.3 °C
1922	18.9 °C
1923	17.8 °C
1924	15.5 °C
1925	17.8 °C
1926	15.7 °C
1927	17.1 °C
1928	17.0 °C
1929	17.3 °C
1930	18.7 °C
1931	19.5 °C
1932	18.3 °C
1933	18.8 °C
1934	19.3 °C
1935	17.7 °C
1936	19.6 °C
1937	18.2 °C
1938	18.0 °C
1941	19.4 °C
1942	18.0 °C
1943	17.6 °C
1944	18.9 °C
1945	17.1 °C
1946	18.4 °C
1947	18.3 °C
1948	19.1 °C
1949	18.8 °C
1950	16.9 °C
1951	17.2 °C
1952	18.6 °C
1953	18.7 °C
1955	20.0 °C
1956	18.0 °C
1957	18.4 °C
1960	18.3 °C
1961	17.8 °C
1962	18.4 °C
1963	18.6 °C
1964	18.7 °C
1965	18.1 °C
1966	17.1 °C
1967	17.0 °C
1968	17.9 °C
1969	18.0 °C
1971	18.4 °C
1972	17.9 °C
1973	18.3 °C
1977	19.5 °C
1978	18.3 °C
1979	17.5 °C
1980	18.4 °C
1981	17.8 °C
1982	17.1 °C
1983	18.0 °C
1984	17.4 °C
1985	17.4 °C
1986	18.1 °C
1987	18.8 °C
1988	19.3 °C
1990	17.0 °C
1991	18.9 °C
1992	15.9 °C
1993	16.9 °C
1994	17.6 °C
1995	17.9 °C
1996	16.3 °C
1997	16.3 °C
1998	18.3 °C
1999	18.0 °C
2000	17.3 °C
2001	18.0 °C
2002	17.9 °C
2003	17.2 °C
2004	17.2 °C
2005	18.8 °C
2006	17.8 °C
2007	17.9 °C
2008	17.1 °C
2009	16.5 °C
2010	18.7 °C
2011	17.4 °C
2012	18.4 °C
2013	16.7 °C
2014	16.4 °C
2015	17.1 °C
2016	17.5 °C
2017	16.4 °C
2018	16.1 °C
2019	16.7 °C
2021	18.6 °C
2022	17.7 °C
2023	18.0 °C
2024	19.0 °C
2025	18.5 °C

What this means for you: Since 1893, Rockton's last spring frost has come about 1 day earlier per decade, on average. The frost-free season has grown by about 2 days per decade. Year-to-year swings are large, so keep using the safe date rather than the trend.

Source: daily records from Beloit (NOAA GHCN-Daily). Years with too many missing days are left out.

Nearby towns

South Beloit Roscoe Beloit, WI Machesney Park Loves Park Rockford