When to plant in Baldwin City, KS

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

Safe to plant out
Apr 20
1 year in 10 has a later frost
Average last frost
Apr 7
about a 50% chance of a later one
Average first fall frost
Oct 27
1 year in 10 by Oct 13
Frost-free days
198
median, 1991–2020

Station used: Lawrence · 20.9 km away · station 319 m, town 316 m. How we match towns to stations

This season

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Planting dates for common crops

CropStart indoorsPlant out or sowHarvest from
Tomato Feb 23 – Mar 9 Apr 20 – May 4 Jun 14
Sweet pepper Feb 9 – Feb 23 Apr 20 – May 4 Jun 19
Lettuce (leaf) Feb 4 – Feb 11 Mar 11 – Mar 25 Apr 20
Peas — Mar 11 – Apr 8 May 5
Bush beans — Apr 13 – May 4 Jun 2
Carrot — Mar 19 – Apr 30 May 18
Beet — Mar 19 – Apr 30 May 8
Potato — Mar 19 – Apr 9 May 28
Kale Feb 4 – Feb 18 Mar 18 – Apr 1 Apr 30
Broccoli Jan 28 – Feb 11 Mar 11 – Apr 1 May 10
Cucumber Mar 23 – Mar 30 Apr 20 – May 4 Jun 9
Summer squash and zucchini Mar 23 – Mar 30 Apr 20 – May 4 Jun 4
Winter squash Mar 23 – Mar 30 Apr 20 – May 4 Jul 9
Sweet corn — Apr 13 – May 4 Jun 12
Onion (from sets) — Mar 11 – Apr 1 Jun 9
Garlic — Oct 13 – Nov 10 (fall) following summer
Spinach — Mar 11 – Apr 8 Apr 18
Basil Mar 9 – Mar 23 Apr 20 – May 4 Jun 16

Plan all 65 crops for Baldwin City

Baldwin City's weather over time

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

Mar 15Apr 1Apr 15May 1May 15 1870188018901900191019201930194019501960197019801990200020102020
Each year's last spring frostLong-term trend
See the data as a table
YearLast spring frost
1869Apr 13
1896Apr 3
1897Mar 27
1900Apr 13
1901Apr 17
1902Apr 7
1909May 1
1910Apr 24
1911Apr 9
1912Apr 7
1913Apr 5
1914Apr 20
1916Apr 9
1917Apr 9
1918Apr 24
1919Apr 16
1920Apr 27
1921Apr 17
1922Apr 18
1923Apr 8
1924May 19
1925Mar 28
1926Apr 15
1927Apr 21
1928Apr 16
1929Apr 1
1930Apr 1
1931Apr 22
1932Mar 23
1933Apr 15
1934Mar 31
1935Apr 16
1936Apr 17
1937Apr 11
1938Apr 10
1939Apr 12
1940Apr 13
1941Mar 29
1942Apr 10
1943Apr 19
1944May 6
1945Apr 5
1946Apr 12
1947Apr 16
1948Apr 1
1949Apr 16
1950Apr 15
1951Apr 16
1952Apr 11
1953Apr 20
1954Apr 4
1955Mar 29
1956Apr 24
1957Apr 13
1958Mar 28
1959Apr 12
1960Apr 30
1961Apr 17
1962Apr 15
1963Mar 21
1964Apr 9
1965Mar 30
1966Apr 21
1967Apr 24
1968Apr 5
1969Mar 26
1970Apr 13
1971Apr 6
1972Apr 8
1973Apr 11
1974Apr 5
1975Apr 12
1976May 3
1977Apr 6
1978Apr 21
1979Apr 6
1980Apr 14
1981Mar 20
1982Apr 9
1983Apr 18
1984Mar 31
1985Apr 1
1986Apr 22
1987Apr 4
1988Mar 19
1989Apr 11
1991Mar 30
1992Apr 21
1993Apr 5
1994Apr 6
1996Apr 6
1997Apr 14
1999Mar 26
2000Mar 28
2001Mar 27
2002Apr 4
2003Apr 10
2008Apr 27
2009Apr 8
2010Mar 23
2011Mar 31
2012Mar 10
2013Apr 24
2014Apr 15
2015Apr 11
2016Apr 14
2018Apr 18
2019Apr 13
2020Apr 16
2021Apr 20
2022Apr 8
2023Apr 5
2025Mar 19
2026Mar 22

What this means for you: Since 1869, Baldwin City'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 Lawrence (NOAA GHCN-Daily). Years with too many missing days are left out.

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