When to plant in Sheldon, IL

Planting dates worked out from Sheldon'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 22

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Oct 9

1 year in 10 by Sep 24

Frost-free days

168

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Watseka Public Works · 14.7 km away · station 191 m, town 208 m. How we match towns to stations

This season

Plan your garden.

Build my Sheldon plan

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 19 – Feb 26	Mar 26 – Apr 9	May 5
Peas	—	Mar 26 – Apr 23	May 20
Bush beans	—	Apr 28 – May 19	Jun 17
Carrot	—	Apr 5 – May 17	Jun 4
Beet	—	Apr 5 – May 17	May 25
Potato	—	Apr 5 – Apr 26	Jun 14
Kale	Feb 19 – Mar 5	Apr 2 – Apr 16	May 15
Broccoli	Feb 12 – Feb 26	Mar 26 – Apr 16	May 25
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)	—	Mar 26 – Apr 16	Jun 24
Garlic	—	Sep 25 – Oct 23 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Mar 26 – Apr 23	May 3
Basil	Mar 24 – Apr 7	May 5 – May 19	Jul 1

Plan all 65 crops for Sheldon

Sheldon'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
1898	Apr 21
1899	Apr 16
1900	May 10
1901	Apr 21
1902	Apr 24
1903	May 2
1904	May 16
1905	Apr 22
1906	May 9
1907	May 21
1908	May 2
1909	May 3
1910	May 12
1911	May 5
1912	Apr 30
1913	May 10
1914	May 1
1915	Apr 17
1916	Apr 28
1937	Apr 11
1938	Apr 9
1939	Apr 13
1940	Apr 14
1941	Apr 2
1942	Apr 11
1943	May 1
1944	Apr 6
1945	Apr 27
1946	Apr 27
1947	May 10
1948	Apr 3
1949	Apr 25
1950	Apr 28
1951	Apr 23
1952	Apr 16
1953	Apr 21
1954	May 6
1955	Apr 8
1956	Apr 24
1957	Apr 15
1958	May 7
1959	Apr 22
1960	May 12
1961	May 27
1962	Apr 20
1963	May 23
1964	Apr 9
1965	Apr 3
1966	May 10
1967	May 3
1968	May 6
1969	Apr 30
1970	Apr 10
1971	May 4
1972	Apr 26
1973	Apr 13
1974	May 7
1975	Apr 21
1976	May 9
1977	Apr 30
1978	May 3
1979	Apr 11
1980	Apr 27
1981	May 12
1982	Apr 28
1983	May 10
1984	May 16
1987	Apr 10
1988	Apr 29
1990	Apr 19
1991	Apr 23
1992	May 27
1993	Apr 17
1994	Apr 8
1995	Apr 14
1996	Apr 27
1997	May 16
1998	Apr 7
1999	Mar 29
2000	Apr 13
2001	Apr 19
2003	Apr 24
2004	Apr 15
2005	May 5
2006	Apr 26
2007	Apr 16
2008	Apr 16
2009	Apr 16
2010	Apr 29
2011	Apr 21
2012	Apr 27

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1897	142
1898	176
1899	163
1900	130
1901	150
1902	172
1903	138
1905	172
1906	153
1907	144
1908	152
1910	163
1911	171
1912	152
1913	135
1914	176
1915	171
1937	185
1938	213
1939	170
1940	206
1941	207
1942	169
1943	186
1944	192
1945	165
1946	199
1947	181
1948	197
1949	182
1950	159
1951	179
1952	169
1953	191
1954	165
1955	199
1956	168
1957	179
1958	147
1959	148
1960	160
1961	127
1962	186
1963	158
1964	179
1965	184
1966	148
1967	161
1968	151
1969	167
1970	188
1971	160
1972	171
1973	186
1974	138
1975	164
1976	157
1977	165
1978	156
1979	181
1980	159
1981	142
1982	176
1983	135
1988	159
1990	174
1991	149
1992	142
1993	165
1994	200
1995	161
1996	166
1997	151
1998	189
1999	189
2000	176
2001	170
2003	160
2004	171
2005	170
2006	168
2007	194
2008	194
2009	176
2010	158
2011	163
2012	148

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1897	19.0 °C
1898	19.0 °C
1899	19.3 °C
1900	20.4 °C
1901	18.9 °C
1902	17.5 °C
1903	18.3 °C
1904	17.7 °C
1905	19.1 °C
1906	19.4 °C
1907	16.9 °C
1908	19.7 °C
1910	18.7 °C
1911	19.9 °C
1912	19.0 °C
1914	20.0 °C
1915	17.8 °C
1916	18.7 °C
1937	19.3 °C
1938	19.9 °C
1939	20.1 °C
1940	19.4 °C
1941	21.1 °C
1942	20.2 °C
1943	19.8 °C
1944	20.6 °C
1945	18.9 °C
1946	19.6 °C
1947	19.5 °C
1948	19.6 °C
1949	18.9 °C
1950	17.8 °C
1951	17.9 °C
1952	19.4 °C
1953	19.4 °C
1954	20.1 °C
1955	20.2 °C
1956	18.9 °C
1957	18.9 °C
1958	18.7 °C
1959	20.6 °C
1960	19.3 °C
1961	18.3 °C
1962	18.9 °C
1963	18.4 °C
1964	19.4 °C
1965	19.2 °C
1966	18.1 °C
1967	18.0 °C
1968	18.9 °C
1969	18.9 °C
1970	19.6 °C
1971	18.7 °C
1972	18.6 °C
1973	18.8 °C
1974	18.0 °C
1975	18.1 °C
1976	16.9 °C
1977	19.0 °C
1978	18.1 °C
1979	17.3 °C
1980	18.7 °C
1981	17.8 °C
1982	17.4 °C
1983	18.3 °C
1988	19.6 °C
1989	17.6 °C
1990	17.6 °C
1991	19.9 °C
1992	16.8 °C
1993	18.5 °C
1994	18.2 °C
1995	18.9 °C
1996	17.5 °C
1997	17.1 °C
1998	19.9 °C
1999	18.9 °C
2000	18.4 °C
2001	18.9 °C
2002	18.8 °C
2003	18.2 °C
2004	18.5 °C
2005	19.7 °C
2006	18.6 °C
2007	19.1 °C
2008	17.7 °C
2009	17.4 °C
2010	19.8 °C
2011	18.3 °C
2012	18.9 °C

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

Nearby towns

Kentland, IN Watseka Milford Morocco, IN Goodland, IN Fowler, IN