When to plant in Columbus, KS

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

Safe to plant out

Apr 18

1 year in 10 has a later frost

Average last frost

Apr 5

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Oct 31

1 year in 10 by Oct 20

Frost-free days

209

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Columbus · 1.3 km away · station 272 m, town 278 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 21 – Mar 7	Apr 18 – May 2	Jun 12
Sweet pepper	Feb 7 – Feb 21	Apr 18 – May 2	Jun 17
Lettuce (leaf)	Feb 1 – Feb 8	Mar 8 – Mar 22	Apr 17
Peas	—	Mar 4 – Apr 1	Apr 28
Bush beans	—	Apr 11 – May 2	May 31
Carrot	—	Mar 15 – Apr 26	May 14
Beet	—	Mar 15 – Apr 26	May 4
Potato	—	Mar 15 – Apr 5	May 24
Kale	Jan 28 – Feb 11	Mar 11 – Mar 25	Apr 23
Broccoli	Jan 25 – Feb 8	Mar 8 – Mar 29	May 7
Cucumber	Mar 21 – Mar 28	Apr 18 – May 2	Jun 7
Summer squash and zucchini	Mar 21 – Mar 28	Apr 18 – May 2	Jun 2
Winter squash	Mar 21 – Mar 28	Apr 18 – May 2	Jul 7
Sweet corn	—	Apr 11 – May 2	Jun 10
Onion (from sets)	—	Mar 8 – Mar 29	Jun 6
Garlic	—	Oct 17 – Nov 14 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Mar 4 – Apr 1	Apr 11
Basil	Mar 7 – Mar 21	Apr 18 – May 2	Jun 14

Plan all 65 crops for Columbus

Columbus'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 22
1895	Apr 3
1896	Apr 3
1897	Apr 17
1898	Apr 7
1899	Apr 16
1900	Apr 13
1901	Apr 18
1902	Apr 8
1903	May 3
1904	Apr 17
1905	Apr 6
1906	Mar 31
1907	May 4
1908	Apr 30
1909	May 1
1910	Apr 26
1911	Apr 9
1912	Apr 2
1913	Apr 13
1914	Apr 12
1915	Apr 3
1916	Apr 9
1917	May 1
1918	Apr 21
1919	Apr 17
1920	Apr 27
1921	Apr 18
1922	Apr 1
1923	May 9
1924	Apr 1
1925	Mar 19
1926	Apr 19
1927	Apr 22
1928	Apr 15
1929	Apr 1
1930	Mar 30
1931	Apr 27
1932	Mar 31
1933	Apr 11
1934	Mar 31
1935	Apr 15
1936	Apr 7
1937	Apr 6
1938	Apr 10
1939	Apr 12
1940	Apr 13
1941	Mar 29
1942	Mar 31
1943	Apr 19
1944	May 6
1945	Apr 5
1946	Apr 12
1947	Mar 30
1948	Apr 14
1949	Apr 16
1950	Apr 14
1951	Apr 17
1952	Apr 15
1953	Apr 20
1954	May 4
1955	Apr 8
1956	Apr 23
1957	Apr 14
1958	Mar 31
1959	Apr 22
1960	May 1
1961	Apr 18
1962	Apr 13
1963	May 1
1964	Apr 9
1965	Apr 28
1966	Apr 21
1967	Mar 21
1968	Apr 24
1969	Mar 30
1970	Apr 14
1971	Apr 14
1972	Apr 8
1973	Apr 11
1974	Apr 9
1975	Apr 12
1976	May 3
1977	Apr 5
1979	Apr 28
1980	Apr 15
1982	Apr 23
1983	Apr 16
1984	Mar 30
1985	Apr 1
1986	Apr 23
1987	Apr 6
1988	Mar 30
1989	Apr 12
1990	Apr 13
1991	Mar 31
1992	Apr 4
1993	Apr 3
1994	Apr 8
1995	Mar 31
1996	Apr 8
1997	Apr 15
1998	Mar 22
1999	Mar 27
2000	Apr 9
2003	Apr 11
2004	Apr 1
2005	Mar 28
2008	Apr 15
2012	Mar 10
2013	May 3
2014	Apr 16
2015	Apr 5
2016	Apr 3
2017	Mar 16
2018	Apr 20
2019	Apr 2
2020	Apr 19
2021	Apr 22
2024	Apr 22
2025	Apr 8
2026	Mar 28

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1893	174
1894	168
1895	179
1896	197
1897	194
1898	195
1899	199
1900	208
1901	178
1902	223
1903	167
1904	188
1905	197
1906	192
1907	161
1908	164
1909	163
1910	184
1911	195
1912	203
1913	189
1914	197
1915	188
1916	172
1917	160
1918	193
1919	193
1920	184
1921	172
1922	199
1923	164
1924	204
1925	204
1926	188
1927	197
1928	201
1929	206
1930	200
1931	186
1932	188
1933	209
1934	214
1935	203
1936	209
1937	198
1938	195
1939	201
1940	185
1941	212
1942	179
1943	179
1944	193
1945	211
1946	212
1947	221
1948	185
1949	197
1950	203
1951	197
1952	174
1953	199
1954	178
1955	192
1956	185
1957	194
1958	183
1959	178
1960	171
1961	184
1962	194
1963	180
1964	179
1965	166
1966	177
1967	211
1968	162
1969	197
1970	184
1971	206
1972	193
1973	208
1974	210
1975	195
1976	166
1977	189
1979	164
1982	180
1983	208
1984	183
1985	220
1986	201
1987	188
1988	231
1989	189
1990	191
1991	213
1992	213
1993	209
1994	200
1995	203
1996	197
1997	195
1998	228
1999	210
2000	181
2003	209
2004	237
2012	210
2013	174
2014	198
2015	216
2016	229
2017	225
2018	203
2019	211
2020	190
2024	176
2025	206

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1893	21.4 °C
1894	21.3 °C
1895	21.6 °C
1896	22.4 °C
1897	21.8 °C
1898	21.5 °C
1899	21.7 °C
1900	22.1 °C
1901	22.4 °C
1902	20.9 °C
1903	20.4 °C
1904	20.2 °C
1905	21.3 °C
1906	21.5 °C
1907	20.7 °C
1908	21.4 °C
1909	22.0 °C
1910	21.2 °C
1911	22.5 °C
1912	21.4 °C
1913	23.1 °C
1914	22.6 °C
1915	20.7 °C
1916	21.8 °C
1917	20.6 °C
1918	22.4 °C
1919	21.6 °C
1920	20.7 °C
1921	22.4 °C
1922	22.0 °C
1923	21.7 °C
1924	20.5 °C
1925	23.1 °C
1926	21.1 °C
1927	21.2 °C
1928	20.4 °C
1929	21.3 °C
1930	22.0 °C
1931	21.3 °C
1932	22.5 °C
1933	22.6 °C
1934	23.9 °C
1935	21.0 °C
1936	24.4 °C
1937	22.2 °C
1938	22.6 °C
1939	22.9 °C
1940	20.9 °C
1941	22.5 °C
1942	21.5 °C
1943	22.4 °C
1944	21.8 °C
1945	20.7 °C
1946	22.3 °C
1947	21.9 °C
1948	22.3 °C
1949	21.6 °C
1950	20.2 °C
1951	20.9 °C
1952	22.8 °C
1953	22.8 °C
1954	24.8 °C
1955	22.9 °C
1956	22.9 °C
1957	22.1 °C
1958	21.6 °C
1959	22.1 °C
1960	21.7 °C
1961	20.4 °C
1962	21.8 °C
1963	23.5 °C
1964	22.3 °C
1965	22.5 °C
1966	21.1 °C
1967	20.5 °C
1968	21.1 °C
1969	22.2 °C
1970	22.4 °C
1971	21.4 °C
1972	22.1 °C
1973	21.3 °C
1974	21.3 °C
1975	21.9 °C
1976	20.8 °C
1977	23.0 °C
1979	21.1 °C
1982	21.1 °C
1983	21.1 °C
1984	21.1 °C
1985	21.7 °C
1986	22.6 °C
1987	22.2 °C
1988	22.1 °C
1989	20.6 °C
1990	21.8 °C
1991	22.9 °C
1992	20.1 °C
1993	20.9 °C
1994	21.3 °C
1995	21.2 °C
1996	21.3 °C
1997	19.8 °C
1998	22.2 °C
1999	20.9 °C
2000	21.5 °C
2003	21.4 °C
2004	21.0 °C
2005	22.3 °C
2007	22.6 °C
2008	21.2 °C
2012	23.4 °C
2013	20.7 °C
2014	20.9 °C
2015	22.4 °C
2016	22.4 °C
2017	21.4 °C
2018	22.2 °C
2019	22.0 °C
2020	21.1 °C
2024	22.6 °C
2025	22.1 °C
2026	24.1 °C

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

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