When to plant in Ellsworth, KS

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

Safe to plant out

May 6

1 year in 10 has a later frost

Average last frost

Apr 25

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Oct 13

1 year in 10 by Sep 28

Frost-free days

178

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Ellsworth · 0.3 km away · station 478 m, town 469 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 11 – Mar 25	May 6 – May 20	Jun 30
Sweet pepper	Feb 25 – Mar 11	May 6 – May 20	Jul 5
Lettuce (leaf)	Feb 21 – Feb 28	Mar 28 – Apr 11	May 7
Peas	—	Mar 14 – Apr 11	May 8
Bush beans	—	Apr 29 – May 20	Jun 18
Carrot	—	Apr 4 – May 16	Jun 3
Beet	—	Mar 28 – May 9	May 17
Potato	—	Apr 4 – Apr 25	Jun 13
Kale	Feb 14 – Feb 28	Mar 28 – Apr 11	May 10
Broccoli	Feb 14 – Feb 28	Mar 28 – Apr 18	May 27
Cucumber	Apr 8 – Apr 15	May 6 – May 20	Jun 25
Summer squash and zucchini	Apr 8 – Apr 15	May 6 – May 20	Jun 20
Winter squash	Apr 8 – Apr 15	May 6 – May 20	Jul 25
Sweet corn	—	Apr 29 – May 20	Jun 28
Onion (from sets)	—	Mar 28 – Apr 18	Jun 26
Garlic	—	Sep 29 – Oct 27 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Mar 14 – Apr 11	Apr 21
Basil	Mar 25 – Apr 8	May 6 – May 20	Jul 2

Plan all 65 crops for Ellsworth

Ellsworth'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
1905	Apr 17
1906	Apr 15
1907	May 27
1908	May 8
1909	May 10
1910	Apr 26
1911	May 2
1912	May 16
1913	Apr 12
1914	May 12
1915	Apr 3
1916	Apr 28
1917	May 8
1918	Apr 28
1919	Apr 17
1920	Apr 27
1921	Apr 17
1922	Apr 18
1923	May 9
1924	May 11
1925	May 6
1926	Apr 28
1927	May 11
1928	Apr 16
1929	May 2
1930	Apr 18
1931	May 22
1932	Apr 11
1933	Apr 15
1934	Apr 21
1935	Apr 15
1936	Apr 7
1937	Apr 27
1938	May 8
1939	Apr 19
1940	Apr 18
1941	Mar 29
1942	Apr 10
1943	Apr 20
1944	May 6
1945	May 4
1946	May 11
1947	May 29
1948	Apr 2
1949	Apr 15
1950	Apr 21
1951	Apr 17
1952	Apr 16
1953	May 15
1954	May 4
1955	Apr 8
1956	Apr 24
1957	Apr 13
1958	Apr 29
1959	Apr 22
1960	Apr 5
1961	May 2
1962	Apr 13
1963	Apr 23
1964	Apr 14
1965	Apr 28
1966	May 13
1967	May 2
1968	Apr 24
1969	Apr 19
1970	May 2
1971	Apr 10
1972	Apr 9
1973	May 3
1974	Apr 16
1975	Apr 12
1976	May 3
1977	Apr 26
1978	Apr 23
1979	May 11
1980	Apr 15
1981	May 11
1982	Apr 23
1983	May 15
1984	May 8
1985	Apr 9
1986	Apr 22
1987	Apr 23
1988	Apr 27
1989	May 6
1990	May 2
1991	May 6
1992	May 6
1993	Apr 21
1994	May 1
1995	May 2
2005	May 4
2006	Apr 20
2008	Apr 28
2009	Apr 14
2010	May 9
2011	Apr 16
2012	Apr 9
2013	May 4
2014	May 3
2015	Apr 11
2016	Apr 13
2017	Apr 28
2018	Apr 27
2019	Apr 15
2020	Apr 18
2021	Apr 22
2022	Apr 27
2023	May 2
2024	Apr 13

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1905	176
1906	168
1907	133
1908	142
1909	154
1910	153
1911	169
1912	127
1913	188
1914	166
1915	187
1916	173
1917	152
1918	144
1919	176
1921	177
1922	173
1923	164
1924	140
1925	155
1926	178
1927	174
1928	187
1929	173
1930	181
1932	197
1933	175
1934	189
1935	190
1936	197
1937	177
1938	164
1939	191
1940	179
1941	212
1942	168
1943	170
1944	158
1945	170
1946	153
1947	159
1948	191
1949	189
1950	184
1951	184
1952	172
1953	164
1954	164
1955	198
1956	165
1957	194
1958	154
1959	187
1960	197
1961	169
1962	194
1963	191
1964	173
1965	166
1966	140
1967	160
1968	186
1969	169
1970	158
1971	182
1972	192
1973	177
1974	181
1975	171
1976	157
1977	167
1978	165
1979	151
1980	160
1981	160
1982	170
1983	128
1984	143
1985	168
1986	173
1987	162
1988	179
1989	140
1990	160
1991	135
1992	154
1993	146
1994	160
2005	147
2006	175
2008	179
2009	178
2010	146
2011	185
2012	180
2013	167
2014	179
2015	197
2016	183
2017	182
2018	167
2019	178
2020	188
2021	204
2022	173
2023	167
2024	185

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1905	21.0 °C
1906	20.6 °C
1907	19.6 °C
1909	20.5 °C
1910	19.9 °C
1911	21.9 °C
1912	20.1 °C
1913	23.4 °C
1914	23.0 °C
1915	20.3 °C
1916	21.5 °C
1918	21.6 °C
1919	21.5 °C
1921	22.9 °C
1922	22.1 °C
1923	21.4 °C
1924	20.8 °C
1925	22.8 °C
1926	21.5 °C
1927	20.9 °C
1928	19.9 °C
1929	21.1 °C
1930	22.1 °C
1932	22.3 °C
1933	22.9 °C
1934	23.8 °C
1935	21.2 °C
1936	24.0 °C
1937	22.9 °C
1938	22.4 °C
1939	23.4 °C
1940	21.8 °C
1941	22.7 °C
1942	21.8 °C
1943	22.7 °C
1944	21.9 °C
1945	20.6 °C
1946	22.5 °C
1947	22.2 °C
1948	22.6 °C
1949	21.3 °C
1950	19.7 °C
1951	19.4 °C
1952	22.0 °C
1953	21.1 °C
1954	22.9 °C
1955	22.1 °C
1956	22.5 °C
1957	21.1 °C
1958	21.3 °C
1959	22.0 °C
1960	21.6 °C
1961	20.5 °C
1962	21.6 °C
1963	23.1 °C
1964	22.2 °C
1965	21.9 °C
1966	21.1 °C
1967	20.2 °C
1968	21.0 °C
1969	21.5 °C
1970	22.2 °C
1971	21.3 °C
1972	21.2 °C
1973	20.9 °C
1974	21.3 °C
1975	21.1 °C
1976	21.8 °C
1977	22.6 °C
1978	22.2 °C
1979	21.1 °C
1980	23.6 °C
1981	21.6 °C
1982	20.6 °C
1983	21.5 °C
1984	21.0 °C
1985	20.7 °C
1986	21.5 °C
1987	21.3 °C
1988	21.7 °C
1989	20.8 °C
1990	21.3 °C
1991	22.2 °C
1992	19.7 °C
1993	19.9 °C
1994	21.1 °C
2005	21.1 °C
2006	21.5 °C
2008	19.6 °C
2009	19.4 °C
2010	21.7 °C
2011	21.5 °C
2012	22.8 °C
2013	20.5 °C
2014	20.9 °C
2015	21.6 °C
2016	21.4 °C
2017	21.2 °C
2018	21.6 °C
2019	21.2 °C
2020	20.7 °C
2021	21.6 °C
2022	22.0 °C
2023	22.0 °C
2024	21.7 °C

What this means for you: Since 1905, Ellsworth'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 Ellsworth (NOAA GHCN-Daily). Years with too many missing days are left out.

Nearby towns

Lincoln Lyons Lindsborg Ellinwood Hoisington Salina