When to plant in Sterling, IL

Planting dates worked out from Sterling'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 28

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Oct 13

1 year in 10 by Sep 29

Frost-free days

161

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Dixon Wwtp · 16.0 km away · station 198 m, town 201 m. How we match towns to stations

This season

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Planting dates for common crops

Crop	Start indoors	Plant out or sow	Harvest 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 24 – Mar 3	Mar 31 – Apr 14	May 10
Peas	—	Mar 30 – Apr 27	May 24
Bush beans	—	May 7 – May 28	Jun 26
Carrot	—	Apr 8 – May 20	Jun 7
Beet	—	Apr 8 – May 20	May 28
Potato	—	Apr 8 – Apr 29	Jun 17
Kale	Feb 23 – Mar 9	Apr 6 – Apr 20	May 19
Broccoli	Feb 17 – Mar 3	Mar 31 – Apr 21	May 30
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 31 – Apr 21	Jun 29
Garlic	—	Sep 29 – Oct 27 (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 Sterling

Sterling'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	May 6
1895	May 14
1896	Apr 10
1897	Apr 20
1898	Apr 21
1899	Apr 19
1900	Apr 14
1901	Apr 21
1902	Apr 24
1903	May 1
1905	Apr 18
1906	May 10
1907	May 27
1908	May 3
1909	May 3
1910	May 14
1911	May 3
1912	Apr 23
1913	May 11
1914	Apr 21
1915	Apr 13
1916	May 2
1917	May 10
1918	May 1
1919	Apr 26
1920	May 14
1921	May 16
1922	Apr 29
1923	May 10
1924	May 25
1925	May 26
1926	Apr 26
1927	Apr 24
1928	May 12
1929	May 7
1930	Apr 26
1931	Apr 30
1932	May 2
1933	Apr 27
1934	Apr 28
1935	May 24
1936	Apr 23
1937	Apr 16
1938	May 13
1939	May 3
1940	May 4
1941	Apr 25
1942	Apr 20
1943	May 1
1944	May 5
1945	May 9
1946	Apr 27
1947	May 9
1948	Apr 17
1949	Apr 20
1950	May 1
1951	Apr 23
1952	Apr 25
1953	Apr 27
1954	May 7
1955	Apr 8
1956	Apr 30
1957	Apr 15
1958	Apr 29
1959	Apr 22
1960	May 12
1961	Apr 29
1962	Apr 20
1963	May 1
1964	Apr 15
1965	Apr 3
1966	May 11
1967	May 7
1968	Apr 26
1969	Apr 29
1970	Apr 10
1971	May 13
1972	Apr 26
1973	Apr 17
1974	Apr 24
1975	Apr 21
1976	May 7
1977	Apr 29
1978	May 1
1979	Apr 10
1980	May 9
1981	May 12
1982	Apr 28
1983	May 9
1984	Apr 24
1985	Apr 10
1986	May 3
1987	Apr 10
1988	Apr 28
1989	May 7
1991	Apr 22
1992	May 27
1993	Apr 22
1994	May 2
1995	Apr 24
1996	May 2
1997	May 16
1998	Apr 17
1999	Apr 20
2000	Apr 22
2001	Apr 19
2002	May 21
2003	Apr 23
2004	May 3
2005	May 5
2006	Apr 26
2007	Apr 17
2008	Apr 29
2009	Apr 22
2012	Apr 23
2015	Apr 24
2016	Apr 13
2018	Apr 29
2020	May 9
2021	Apr 23
2022	Apr 20
2023	Apr 27
2024	Apr 21
2025	Apr 17
2026	May 7

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1893	142
1895	138
1896	179
1897	191
1898	175
1899	163
1900	185
1901	165
1902	172
1905	176
1906	152
1907	120
1908	148
1909	161
1910	161
1911	173
1912	183
1913	160
1914	186
1915	178
1916	160
1917	148
1918	148
1919	173
1920	139
1921	140
1922	170
1923	126
1924	128
1925	135
1926	152
1927	172
1928	135
1929	150
1930	173
1931	170
1932	150
1933	164
1934	182
1935	126
1936	161
1937	153
1938	163
1939	150
1940	144
1941	185
1942	156
1943	166
1944	159
1945	146
1946	156
1947	139
1948	182
1949	161
1950	145
1951	157
1952	160
1953	162
1954	162
1955	193
1956	142
1957	178
1958	154
1959	172
1960	160
1961	177
1962	186
1963	180
1964	173
1965	203
1966	157
1967	157
1968	160
1969	167
1970	176
1971	151
1972	171
1973	199
1974	150
1975	187
1976	153
1977	166
1978	159
1979	185
1980	147
1981	142
1982	170
1983	136
1984	154
1985	170
1987	175
1988	160
1989	139
1991	157
1992	142
1993	160
1994	160
1995	151
1996	161
1997	151
1998	187
1999	176
2000	167
2001	169
2002	145
2003	160
2004	154
2005	170
2006	168
2007	193
2009	170
2012	152
2015	175
2016	212
2018	169
2020	159
2021	182
2022	177
2023	185
2024	177
2025	189

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1893	17.7 °C
1895	19.4 °C
1896	19.3 °C
1897	18.6 °C
1898	18.5 °C
1899	19.2 °C
1900	19.3 °C
1901	19.4 °C
1902	17.5 °C
1903	17.8 °C
1904	16.6 °C
1905	18.2 °C
1906	18.7 °C
1907	15.6 °C
1908	18.3 °C
1909	17.6 °C
1910	18.3 °C
1911	19.1 °C
1912	18.1 °C
1913	18.9 °C
1914	18.6 °C
1915	16.9 °C
1916	17.6 °C
1917	15.9 °C
1918	16.6 °C
1919	18.4 °C
1920	18.3 °C
1921	20.6 °C
1922	19.4 °C
1923	18.2 °C
1924	16.6 °C
1925	18.8 °C
1926	17.5 °C
1927	17.8 °C
1928	17.7 °C
1929	18.2 °C
1930	19.8 °C
1931	19.9 °C
1932	18.9 °C
1933	19.6 °C
1934	20.2 °C
1935	17.7 °C
1936	19.4 °C
1937	19.1 °C
1938	19.0 °C
1939	19.3 °C
1940	18.4 °C
1941	20.1 °C
1942	19.2 °C
1943	18.8 °C
1944	19.5 °C
1945	17.6 °C
1946	18.5 °C
1947	18.7 °C
1948	19.0 °C
1949	18.9 °C
1950	16.9 °C
1951	17.4 °C
1952	19.0 °C
1953	18.7 °C
1954	19.0 °C
1955	20.0 °C
1956	18.2 °C
1957	18.4 °C
1958	18.3 °C
1959	19.9 °C
1960	18.9 °C
1961	18.0 °C
1962	19.1 °C
1963	19.1 °C
1964	19.4 °C
1965	18.8 °C
1966	18.1 °C
1967	17.5 °C
1968	18.6 °C
1969	18.7 °C
1970	19.4 °C
1971	19.0 °C
1972	18.4 °C
1973	18.7 °C
1974	18.2 °C
1975	18.3 °C
1976	18.4 °C
1977	19.1 °C
1978	18.4 °C
1979	17.1 °C
1980	17.9 °C
1981	17.3 °C
1982	17.0 °C
1983	18.0 °C
1984	17.8 °C
1985	18.0 °C
1987	18.8 °C
1988	19.1 °C
1989	17.0 °C
1991	19.3 °C
1992	16.1 °C
1993	17.0 °C
1994	17.8 °C
1995	17.8 °C
1996	15.4 °C
1997	15.7 °C
1998	18.9 °C
1999	18.4 °C
2000	17.9 °C
2001	18.5 °C
2002	18.4 °C
2003	17.8 °C
2004	17.6 °C
2005	19.2 °C
2006	18.2 °C
2007	18.6 °C
2008	17.5 °C
2009	16.9 °C
2012	19.3 °C
2015	18.8 °C
2016	19.3 °C
2018	18.6 °C
2020	18.0 °C
2021	19.0 °C
2022	18.1 °C
2023	18.5 °C
2024	18.9 °C
2025	18.8 °C

What this means for you: Since 1893, Sterling'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 Dixon Wwtp (NOAA GHCN-Daily). Years with too many missing days are left out.

Nearby towns

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