When to plant in Atchison, KS

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

Safe to plant out

Apr 15

1 year in 10 has a later frost

Average last frost

Apr 6

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Oct 26

1 year in 10 by Oct 13

Frost-free days

200

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Atchison · 1.7 km away · station 288 m, town 248 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	Feb 18 – Mar 4	Apr 15 – Apr 29	Jun 9
Sweet pepper	Feb 4 – Feb 18	Apr 15 – Apr 29	Jun 14
Lettuce (leaf)	Feb 7 – Feb 14	Mar 14 – Mar 28	Apr 23
Peas	—	Mar 14 – Apr 11	May 8
Bush beans	—	Apr 8 – Apr 29	May 28
Carrot	—	Mar 22 – May 3	May 21
Beet	—	Mar 22 – May 3	May 11
Potato	—	Mar 22 – Apr 12	May 31
Kale	Feb 7 – Feb 21	Mar 21 – Apr 4	May 3
Broccoli	Jan 31 – Feb 14	Mar 14 – Apr 4	May 13
Cucumber	Mar 18 – Mar 25	Apr 15 – Apr 29	Jun 4
Summer squash and zucchini	Mar 18 – Mar 25	Apr 15 – Apr 29	May 30
Winter squash	Mar 18 – Mar 25	Apr 15 – Apr 29	Jul 4
Sweet corn	—	Apr 8 – Apr 29	Jun 7
Onion (from sets)	—	Mar 14 – Apr 4	Jun 12
Garlic	—	Oct 12 – Nov 9 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Mar 14 – Apr 11	Apr 21
Basil	Mar 4 – Mar 18	Apr 15 – Apr 29	Jun 11

Plan all 65 crops for Atchison

Atchison'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 23
1894	Apr 11
1895	Apr 2
1896	Apr 3
1897	Mar 27
1898	Apr 2
1899	Apr 8
1900	Apr 12
1901	Apr 18
1902	Apr 8
1903	May 1
1904	Apr 17
1905	Apr 18
1906	Mar 31
1907	May 15
1908	Apr 30
1909	May 1
1910	Apr 18
1911	Apr 9
1914	Apr 12
1915	Apr 3
1916	Apr 9
1917	Apr 9
1918	Apr 21
1919	Apr 11
1920	Apr 28
1921	May 3
1922	Apr 18
1923	May 9
1924	Apr 22
1925	Mar 30
1926	Apr 19
1927	Apr 21
1929	Apr 12
1930	Apr 8
1932	Apr 27
1933	Apr 15
1934	Apr 25
1935	Apr 16
1936	Apr 19
1937	Apr 11
1938	Apr 22
1939	Apr 18
1940	Apr 18
1941	Mar 29
1942	Apr 11
1943	Apr 19
1944	May 6
1945	Apr 5
1946	Apr 12
1947	Apr 16
1948	Apr 2
1949	Apr 18
1950	Apr 30
1951	Apr 23
1952	Apr 15
1953	Apr 20
1954	May 4
1955	Apr 7
1956	Apr 24
1957	Apr 14
1958	Apr 29
1959	Apr 13
1960	Apr 30
1961	Apr 18
1962	Apr 16
1963	May 1
1964	Apr 8
1967	Apr 27
1969	Mar 31
1970	Apr 6
1971	Apr 6
1972	Apr 8
1973	Apr 11
1974	Apr 8
1975	Apr 12
1976	May 3
1977	Apr 6
1978	Apr 21
1979	Apr 6
1980	Apr 14
1981	Mar 23
1982	Apr 21
1983	Apr 18
1984	Mar 31
1985	Apr 9
1986	Apr 22
1987	Apr 5
1988	Apr 18
1989	Apr 11
1991	Mar 30
1992	Apr 21
1993	Apr 5
1994	Apr 7
1995	Apr 5
1996	Apr 15
1997	Apr 14
1998	Mar 25
1999	Mar 26
2000	Apr 9
2001	Apr 1
2002	Apr 5
2004	Apr 12
2006	Mar 27
2007	Apr 10
2008	Apr 15

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1893	174
1894	179
1895	180
1896	196
1897	215
1898	197
1899	173
1900	209
1901	198
1902	202
1903	188
1904	187
1905	185
1906	192
1907	149
1909	163
1910	192
1911	195
1914	197
1915	188
1916	183
1917	179
1918	189
1919	188
1920	155
1921	157
1922	176
1923	164
1924	183
1925	192
1926	159
1927	197
1929	182
1930	191
1932	161
1933	185
1934	185
1935	172
1936	185
1937	185
1938	183
1939	178
1940	201
1941	212
1942	168
1943	178
1944	158
1945	186
1946	182
1947	204
1948	197
1949	190
1950	186
1951	157
1952	173
1953	189
1954	178
1955	199
1956	197
1957	186
1958	190
1959	197
1960	172
1961	184
1962	191
1963	180
1964	183
1967	154
1969	196
1970	192
1971	213
1973	205
1974	211
1975	189
1976	157
1977	217
1978	168
1979	189
1980	193
1981	213
1982	182
1983	204
1984	181
1985	174
1986	200
1987	188
1988	190
1989	191
1991	202
1992	196
1993	187
1994	201
1995	198
1996	189
1997	195
1998	225
1999	205
2000	180
2001	208
2002	209
2004	213
2006	200
2007	204
2008	195

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1893	20.4 °C
1894	21.1 °C
1895	20.9 °C
1896	20.9 °C
1897	21.0 °C
1898	21.0 °C
1899	20.7 °C
1900	21.7 °C
1901	21.6 °C
1902	19.9 °C
1903	19.6 °C
1905	20.4 °C
1906	21.1 °C
1907	19.6 °C
1909	20.8 °C
1910	20.3 °C
1911	22.2 °C
1914	21.8 °C
1915	20.1 °C
1916	21.1 °C
1917	19.6 °C
1918	21.7 °C
1919	21.2 °C
1920	19.2 °C
1921	21.4 °C
1922	20.9 °C
1923	20.2 °C
1924	19.3 °C
1925	21.3 °C
1926	20.7 °C
1927	20.1 °C
1928	19.7 °C
1929	20.5 °C
1930	21.3 °C
1931	21.3 °C
1932	21.2 °C
1933	21.5 °C
1934	22.5 °C
1935	20.1 °C
1936	22.9 °C
1937	21.2 °C
1938	21.2 °C
1939	22.1 °C
1940	20.6 °C
1941	22.2 °C
1942	21.1 °C
1943	21.2 °C
1944	20.6 °C
1945	19.7 °C
1946	20.8 °C
1947	20.8 °C
1948	21.6 °C
1949	20.5 °C
1950	18.7 °C
1951	19.1 °C
1952	21.1 °C
1953	21.0 °C
1954	22.2 °C
1955	21.8 °C
1956	21.8 °C
1957	20.7 °C
1958	20.5 °C
1959	20.8 °C
1960	20.7 °C
1961	18.8 °C
1962	20.7 °C
1963	21.6 °C
1964	21.2 °C
1966	19.7 °C
1967	19.6 °C
1969	20.7 °C
1970	21.4 °C
1971	21.2 °C
1972	20.6 °C
1973	20.3 °C
1974	20.6 °C
1975	20.5 °C
1976	20.9 °C
1977	22.0 °C
1978	21.1 °C
1979	20.1 °C
1980	22.2 °C
1981	20.9 °C
1982	19.7 °C
1983	21.1 °C
1984	20.7 °C
1985	20.2 °C
1986	21.3 °C
1987	21.5 °C
1988	22.2 °C
1989	20.8 °C
1991	22.4 °C
1992	20.3 °C
1993	20.5 °C
1994	21.3 °C
1995	20.8 °C
1996	20.8 °C
1997	20.7 °C
1998	22.2 °C
1999	21.2 °C
2000	21.5 °C
2001	21.4 °C
2002	21.5 °C
2004	20.1 °C
2006	21.6 °C
2007	21.7 °C
2008	19.8 °C

What this means for you: Since 1893, Atchison's last spring frost has stayed at about the same time of year. 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 Atchison (NOAA GHCN-Daily). Years with too many missing days are left out.

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