When to plant in La Crosse, KS

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

Safe to plant out

May 8

1 year in 10 has a later frost

Average last frost

Apr 27

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Oct 8

1 year in 10 by Sep 21

Frost-free days

163

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Bison 3nw · 7.3 km away · station 622 m, town 627 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 13 – Mar 27	May 8 – May 22	Jul 2
Sweet pepper	Feb 27 – Mar 13	May 8 – May 22	Jul 7
Lettuce (leaf)	Feb 23 – Mar 2	Mar 30 – Apr 13	May 9
Peas	—	Mar 16 – Apr 13	May 10
Bush beans	—	May 1 – May 22	Jun 20
Carrot	—	Apr 6 – May 18	Jun 5
Beet	—	Mar 30 – May 11	May 19
Potato	—	Apr 6 – Apr 27	Jun 15
Kale	Feb 16 – Mar 2	Mar 30 – Apr 13	May 12
Broccoli	Feb 16 – Mar 2	Mar 30 – Apr 20	May 29
Cucumber	Apr 10 – Apr 17	May 8 – May 22	Jun 27
Summer squash and zucchini	Apr 10 – Apr 17	May 8 – May 22	Jun 22
Winter squash	Apr 10 – Apr 17	May 8 – May 22	Jul 27
Sweet corn	—	May 1 – May 22	Jun 30
Onion (from sets)	—	Mar 30 – Apr 20	Jun 28
Garlic	—	Sep 24 – Oct 22 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Mar 16 – Apr 13	Apr 23
Basil	Mar 27 – Apr 10	May 8 – May 22	Jul 4

Plan all 65 crops for La Crosse

La Crosse'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
1923	May 16
1924	May 14
1925	May 1
1926	Apr 28
1927	Apr 22
1928	Apr 21
1929	May 7
1930	Apr 18
1931	May 22
1932	May 1
1933	Apr 16
1934	Apr 27
1935	Apr 20
1936	Apr 22
1937	Apr 27
1938	May 8
1939	Apr 21
1940	Apr 18
1941	Apr 24
1942	May 15
1943	Apr 20
1944	May 6
1945	May 17
1946	May 12
1947	May 29
1948	May 12
1949	Apr 15
1950	Apr 30
1951	May 7
1952	May 11
1953	May 14
1954	May 3
1955	Apr 7
1956	Apr 29
1957	Apr 15
1958	Apr 24
1959	Apr 22
1960	May 12
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 28
1970	May 2
1971	Apr 9
1972	Apr 9
1973	May 3
1974	Apr 16
1975	Apr 12
1976	May 3
1977	Apr 5
1978	Apr 21
1979	May 12
1980	Apr 15
1981	May 11
1982	Apr 22
1983	May 15
1984	May 8
1985	Apr 8
1986	Apr 16
1987	Apr 23
1988	Apr 28
1989	May 2
1990	Apr 13
1991	May 2
1992	Apr 27
1993	Apr 20
1994	May 1
1995	Apr 27
1996	Apr 23
1997	Apr 14
2000	Apr 21
2001	Apr 18
2002	Apr 25
2003	Apr 21
2004	Apr 25
2005	May 4
2006	Apr 27
2007	Apr 15
2008	May 11
2009	Apr 28
2010	May 8
2011	May 16
2012	Apr 24
2013	May 7
2016	Apr 13

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1923	155
1924	137
1925	160
1926	167
1927	191
1928	180
1929	166
1930	182
1931	160
1932	162
1933	174
1934	183
1935	185
1936	182
1937	177
1938	164
1939	175
1940	179
1941	186
1942	133
1943	168
1944	158
1945	119
1946	152
1947	151
1948	151
1949	189
1950	177
1951	162
1952	147
1953	143
1954	164
1955	199
1956	174
1957	192
1958	159
1959	177
1960	160
1961	169
1962	194
1963	191
1964	173
1965	176
1966	154
1967	160
1968	186
1969	168
1970	159
1971	202
1972	191
1973	177
1974	181
1975	165
1976	157
1977	188
1978	167
1979	162
1980	170
1981	160
1983	128
1984	143
1985	171
1986	178
1987	172
1988	182
1989	168
1990	179
1992	170
1993	171
1994	159
1995	145
1996	176
1997	188
2000	156
2001	170
2002	170
2003	150
2004	171
2005	147
2006	168
2007	190
2008	157
2009	161
2010	147
2011	136
2012	165
2013	161

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1923	20.8 °C
1924	20.0 °C
1925	22.0 °C
1926	20.9 °C
1927	20.4 °C
1928	19.4 °C
1929	20.8 °C
1930	21.7 °C
1931	21.6 °C
1932	21.6 °C
1933	22.6 °C
1934	23.3 °C
1935	20.9 °C
1936	23.3 °C
1937	22.5 °C
1938	21.9 °C
1939	22.9 °C
1940	21.3 °C
1941	21.5 °C
1942	20.9 °C
1943	21.9 °C
1944	20.4 °C
1945	19.9 °C
1946	21.6 °C
1947	21.0 °C
1948	21.4 °C
1949	21.3 °C
1950	19.8 °C
1951	19.7 °C
1952	22.2 °C
1953	21.6 °C
1954	23.2 °C
1955	22.6 °C
1956	22.9 °C
1957	20.8 °C
1958	20.9 °C
1959	21.8 °C
1960	21.6 °C
1961	20.2 °C
1962	21.7 °C
1963	23.4 °C
1964	22.4 °C
1965	21.6 °C
1966	21.3 °C
1967	20.4 °C
1968	21.3 °C
1969	21.4 °C
1970	21.8 °C
1971	21.1 °C
1972	20.7 °C
1973	20.3 °C
1974	21.1 °C
1975	21.1 °C
1976	21.2 °C
1977	21.6 °C
1978	21.4 °C
1979	20.6 °C
1980	21.9 °C
1981	21.1 °C
1982	20.0 °C
1983	20.7 °C
1984	20.8 °C
1985	21.0 °C
1986	21.5 °C
1987	20.9 °C
1988	21.4 °C
1989	20.1 °C
1990	20.8 °C
1992	19.7 °C
1993	19.9 °C
1994	21.2 °C
1995	19.7 °C
1996	20.6 °C
1997	20.1 °C
2000	21.2 °C
2001	21.2 °C
2002	21.4 °C
2003	20.5 °C
2004	20.0 °C
2005	21.2 °C
2006	21.3 °C
2007	20.4 °C
2008	19.2 °C
2009	18.7 °C
2010	21.2 °C
2011	21.1 °C
2012	22.1 °C
2014	19.9 °C

What this means for you: Since 1923, La Crosse'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 Bison 3nw (NOAA GHCN-Daily). Years with too many missing days are left out.

Nearby towns

Victoria Hays Larned Hoisington Ellis Great Bend