When to plant in Winchester, IL

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

Safe to plant out
Apr 22
1 year in 10 has a later frost
Average last frost
Apr 12
about a 50% chance of a later one
Average first fall frost
Oct 19
1 year in 10 by Oct 7
Frost-free days
183
median, 1991–2020

Station used: White Hall 1 E · 22.0 km away · station 177 m, town 165 m. How we match towns to stations

This season

Plan your garden.

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Planting dates for common crops

CropStart indoorsPlant out or sowHarvest from
Tomato Feb 25 – Mar 11 Apr 22 – May 6 Jun 16
Sweet pepper Feb 11 – Feb 25 Apr 22 – May 6 Jun 21
Lettuce (leaf) Feb 12 – Feb 19 Mar 19 – Apr 2 Apr 28
Peas — Mar 19 – Apr 16 May 13
Bush beans — Apr 15 – May 6 Jun 4
Carrot — Mar 28 – May 9 May 27
Beet — Mar 28 – May 9 May 17
Potato — Mar 28 – Apr 18 Jun 6
Kale Feb 12 – Feb 26 Mar 26 – Apr 9 May 8
Broccoli Feb 5 – Feb 19 Mar 19 – Apr 9 May 18
Cucumber Mar 25 – Apr 1 Apr 22 – May 6 Jun 11
Summer squash and zucchini Mar 25 – Apr 1 Apr 22 – May 6 Jun 6
Winter squash Mar 25 – Apr 1 Apr 22 – May 6 Jul 11
Sweet corn — Apr 15 – May 6 Jun 14
Onion (from sets) — Mar 19 – Apr 9 Jun 17
Garlic — Oct 5 – Nov 2 (fall) following summer
Spinach — Mar 19 – Apr 16 Apr 26
Basil Mar 11 – Mar 25 Apr 22 – May 6 Jun 18

Plan all 65 crops for Winchester

Winchester's weather over time

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

Apr 1Apr 15May 1May 15 1900191019201930194019501960197019801990200020102020
Each year's last spring frostLong-term trend
See the data as a table
YearLast spring frost
1894Mar 30
1896Apr 4
1897Apr 20
1898Apr 7
1903May 1
1904Apr 21
1905Apr 22
1906May 7
1907May 3
1909Apr 13
1910Apr 24
1911May 3
1912Apr 19
1913Apr 5
1914Apr 13
1915Apr 4
1916Apr 10
1917Apr 15
1918May 1
1919Apr 26
1920May 14
1921Apr 18
1922Apr 18
1923May 10
1924Apr 10
1925May 25
1926Apr 26
1927Apr 25
1928Apr 28
1929Apr 12
1930Apr 25
1932Apr 27
1933Apr 27
1934Apr 25
1935Apr 16
1936Apr 23
1937Apr 11
1938Apr 10
1939Apr 20
1940Apr 21
1941Mar 29
1942Apr 11
1943Apr 21
1944May 7
1945Apr 19
1946Apr 27
1947Apr 17
1948Mar 28
1949Apr 19
1950Apr 26
1951Apr 23
1952Apr 16
1953Apr 21
1954May 4
1955Apr 8
1956Apr 24
1957Apr 14
1958Apr 8
1959Apr 22
1960Apr 10
1961Apr 16
1962Apr 16
1963May 1
1964Apr 9
1965Apr 2
1966May 10
1967Apr 24
1968Apr 25
1969Mar 31
1970Apr 7
1971Apr 10
1972Apr 9
1973Apr 13
1974Apr 9
1975Apr 7
1976May 4
1977Apr 6
1978May 1
1979Apr 7
1980Apr 16
1981Apr 6
1982Apr 21
1983Apr 20
1984Apr 1
1985Apr 10
1986Apr 23
1987Apr 12
1988Apr 28
1989Apr 14
1990Apr 19
1991Mar 31
1992Apr 6
1993Apr 18
1994Apr 8
1995Apr 6
1996Apr 11
1997Apr 17
1998Apr 5
1999Mar 29
2000Apr 9
2001Apr 19
2002Apr 6
2004Apr 14
2005May 4
2007Apr 14
2008May 1
2009Apr 10
2010Mar 27
2011Apr 6
2012Apr 13
2013Apr 21
2014Apr 16
2015Apr 24
2016Apr 13
2017Mar 23
2018Apr 18
2019Apr 20
2020Apr 19
2021Apr 23
2022Apr 20
2023Apr 24
2024Mar 29
2025Apr 9
2026Mar 29

What this means for you: Since 1894, Winchester's last spring frost has come about 1 day earlier per decade, on average. The frost-free season has grown by about 1 days per decade. Year-to-year swings are large, so keep using the safe date rather than the trend.

Source: daily records from White Hall 1 E (NOAA GHCN-Daily). Years with too many missing days are left out.

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