When to plant in Merriam, KS

Planting dates worked out from Merriam'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 2

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Oct 31

1 year in 10 by Oct 18

Frost-free days

210

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Kansas City Dwtn Ap · 14.7 km away · station 226 m, town 277 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)	Jan 31 – Feb 7	Mar 7 – Mar 21	Apr 16
Peas	—	Mar 7 – Apr 4	May 1
Bush beans	—	Apr 8 – Apr 29	May 28
Carrot	—	Mar 16 – Apr 27	May 15
Beet	—	Mar 16 – Apr 27	May 5
Potato	—	Mar 16 – Apr 6	May 25
Kale	Jan 31 – Feb 14	Mar 14 – Mar 28	Apr 26
Broccoli	Jan 24 – Feb 7	Mar 7 – Mar 28	May 6
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 7 – Mar 28	Jun 5
Garlic	—	Oct 17 – Nov 14 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Mar 7 – Apr 4	Apr 14
Basil	Mar 4 – Mar 18	Apr 15 – Apr 29	Jun 11

Plan all 65 crops for Merriam

Merriam'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
1934	Mar 31
1935	Apr 16
1936	Apr 7
1937	Apr 10
1938	Apr 9
1939	Apr 12
1940	Apr 12
1941	Mar 29
1942	Mar 31
1943	Apr 15
1944	May 6
1945	Apr 5
1946	Mar 10
1947	Mar 30
1948	Apr 1
1949	Apr 16
1950	Apr 15
1951	Apr 16
1952	Apr 10
1953	Apr 20
1954	Apr 4
1955	Mar 28
1956	Apr 8
1957	Apr 13
1958	Mar 26
1959	Apr 9
1960	Mar 26
1961	Apr 16
1962	Apr 15
1963	Mar 22
1964	Mar 31
1965	Apr 16
1966	Apr 21
1967	Apr 27
1968	Apr 5
1969	Mar 31
1970	Apr 4
1971	Mar 25
1972	Apr 8
1979	Apr 6
1980	Mar 14
1981	Mar 23
1982	Apr 21
1983	Apr 18
1984	Apr 1
1985	Apr 1
1986	Apr 22
1987	Apr 5
1988	Mar 18
1989	Apr 11
1990	Apr 13
1991	Mar 30
1992	Apr 2
1993	Apr 5
1995	Apr 5
1996	Apr 6
1997	Apr 15
1998	Mar 21
1999	Mar 26
2000	Apr 7
2001	Mar 28
2002	Apr 4
2003	Apr 9
2004	Mar 31
2005	Mar 27
2006	Mar 27
2007	Apr 9
2008	Apr 14
2009	Apr 7
2010	Mar 23
2011	Mar 15
2012	Mar 9
2013	Apr 24
2014	Apr 15
2015	Apr 4
2016	Mar 28
2017	Mar 15
2018	Apr 16
2019	Mar 31
2020	Apr 18
2021	Apr 22
2022	Apr 9
2023	Apr 23
2024	Mar 27

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1934	210
1935	172
1936	197
1937	186
1938	210
1939	200
1940	207
1941	212
1942	207
1943	182
1944	198
1945	186
1946	246
1947	222
1948	199
1949	197
1950	202
1951	197
1952	178
1953	198
1954	209
1955	218
1956	213
1957	194
1958	236
1959	209
1960	207
1961	199
1962	202
1963	235
1964	232
1965	206
1966	177
1967	190
1968	215
1969	209
1970	194
1971	225
1979	209
1980	225
1981	213
1982	182
1983	211
1984	213
1985	231
1986	200
1987	198
1988	223
1989	191
1990	205
1991	202
1992	215
1995	210
1996	199
1997	193
1998	229
1999	211
2000	182
2001	212
2002	209
2003	210
2004	225
2005	232
2006	208
2007	210
2008	196
2009	232
2010	226
2011	239
2012	211
2013	183
2014	198
2015	230
2016	235
2017	226
2018	182
2019	212
2020	190
2021	194
2022	191
2023	187
2024	239

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1934	23.9 °C
1935	21.2 °C
1936	24.1 °C
1937	22.5 °C
1938	22.4 °C
1939	22.9 °C
1940	21.2 °C
1941	22.7 °C
1942	21.6 °C
1943	21.6 °C
1944	21.4 °C
1945	20.3 °C
1946	21.7 °C
1947	21.9 °C
1948	22.4 °C
1949	21.5 °C
1950	19.8 °C
1951	20.1 °C
1952	22.4 °C
1953	22.4 °C
1954	23.6 °C
1955	23.2 °C
1956	22.7 °C
1957	21.9 °C
1958	21.6 °C
1959	22.4 °C
1960	22.1 °C
1961	19.4 °C
1962	21.9 °C
1963	23.0 °C
1964	22.0 °C
1965	22.1 °C
1966	21.0 °C
1967	20.5 °C
1968	21.4 °C
1969	21.6 °C
1970	22.9 °C
1971	22.1 °C
1972	21.7 °C
1979	21.9 °C
1980	24.5 °C
1981	23.5 °C
1982	21.2 °C
1983	22.4 °C
1984	21.9 °C
1985	21.8 °C
1986	22.7 °C
1987	22.8 °C
1988	23.2 °C
1989	20.9 °C
1990	21.9 °C
1991	23.6 °C
1992	20.6 °C
1993	21.0 °C
1995	21.4 °C
1996	20.9 °C
1997	21.1 °C
1998	22.6 °C
1999	21.7 °C
2000	23.1 °C
2001	22.6 °C
2002	22.2 °C
2003	21.9 °C
2004	21.4 °C
2005	22.7 °C
2006	22.9 °C
2007	22.8 °C
2008	21.1 °C
2009	20.9 °C
2010	23.0 °C
2011	22.5 °C
2012	24.0 °C
2013	21.6 °C
2014	21.9 °C
2015	22.6 °C
2016	23.1 °C
2017	22.4 °C
2018	23.2 °C
2019	22.9 °C
2020	21.5 °C
2021	22.4 °C
2022	22.4 °C
2023	22.8 °C
2024	23.0 °C

What this means for you: Since 1934, Merriam'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 Kansas City Dwtn Ap (NOAA GHCN-Daily). Years with too many missing days are left out.

Nearby towns

Shawnee Mission Overland Park Fairway Roeland Park Prairie Village