When to plant in Oakley, KS

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

Safe to plant out

May 14

1 year in 10 has a later frost

Average last frost

May 2

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Oct 11

1 year in 10 by Sep 29

Frost-free days

162

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Oakley 4w · 7.3 km away · station 946 m, town 934 m. How we match towns to stations

This season

Plan your garden.

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Planting dates for common crops

Crop	Start indoors	Plant out or sow	Harvest from
Tomato	Mar 19 – Apr 2	May 14 – May 28	Jul 8
Sweet pepper	Mar 5 – Mar 19	May 14 – May 28	Jul 13
Lettuce (leaf)	Feb 28 – Mar 7	Apr 4 – Apr 18	May 14
Peas	—	Mar 23 – Apr 20	May 17
Bush beans	—	May 7 – May 28	Jun 26
Carrot	—	Apr 11 – May 23	Jun 10
Beet	—	Apr 5 – May 17	May 25
Potato	—	Apr 11 – May 2	Jun 20
Kale	Feb 21 – Mar 7	Apr 4 – Apr 18	May 17
Broccoli	Feb 21 – Mar 7	Apr 4 – Apr 25	Jun 3
Cucumber	Apr 16 – Apr 23	May 14 – May 28	Jul 3
Summer squash and zucchini	Apr 16 – Apr 23	May 14 – May 28	Jun 28
Winter squash	Apr 16 – Apr 23	May 14 – May 28	Aug 2
Sweet corn	—	May 7 – May 28	Jul 6
Onion (from sets)	—	Apr 4 – Apr 25	Jul 3
Garlic	—	Sep 27 – Oct 25 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Mar 23 – Apr 20	Apr 30
Basil	Apr 2 – Apr 16	May 14 – May 28	Jul 10

Plan all 65 crops for Oakley

Oakley'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 15
1925	May 1
1926	Apr 28
1927	Apr 21
1928	Apr 22
1929	May 16
1930	Apr 8
1931	May 22
1932	May 16
1933	Apr 15
1934	Apr 21
1935	May 13
1936	Apr 22
1937	Apr 26
1938	May 8
1939	Apr 21
1940	May 15
1941	Apr 21
1942	May 18
1943	May 16
1944	May 6
1945	May 16
1946	May 11
1947	Apr 17
1948	May 12
1949	Apr 16
1950	May 27
1951	May 7
1952	May 11
1953	May 14
1954	May 3
1955	Apr 28
1956	Apr 30
1957	Apr 14
1958	Apr 29
1959	Apr 22
1960	Apr 30
1961	Apr 28
1962	Apr 13
1963	Apr 23
1964	Apr 18
1965	Apr 28
1966	May 13
1967	May 4
1968	Apr 23
1969	Apr 28
1970	May 1
1971	May 12
1972	Apr 4
1973	Apr 27
1974	Apr 16
1975	Apr 19
1976	Apr 4
1977	Apr 5
1978	Apr 25
1979	May 11
1980	Apr 14
1981	May 10
1983	May 15
1985	Apr 9
1986	Apr 17
1987	Apr 22
1989	May 6
1990	May 11
1991	May 5
1993	May 3
1994	May 1
1995	Apr 28
1996	Apr 30
1997	May 10
1998	May 4
1999	Apr 19
2000	May 14
2001	Apr 23
2002	May 10
2003	Apr 22
2004	May 15
2005	May 4
2006	May 12
2007	Apr 27
2008	May 14
2009	Apr 12
2010	May 3
2011	May 17
2012	Apr 17
2013	May 6
2014	May 15
2015	Apr 24
2016	Apr 12
2017	May 2
2018	Apr 27
2020	May 10
2021	May 12
2022	May 2
2023	May 1
2024	Apr 21
2026	May 3

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1923	149
1924	136
1926	149
1927	157
1928	181
1929	157
1930	191
1931	160
1932	141
1933	175
1934	157
1935	149
1936	167
1937	178
1938	164
1939	171
1940	152
1941	188
1942	130
1943	151
1944	157
1945	134
1947	191
1949	187
1950	128
1951	162
1952	147
1953	142
1954	164
1955	175
1956	178
1957	192
1958	154
1959	171
1960	171
1961	149
1962	194
1963	191
1964	169
1965	175
1966	153
1967	145
1968	181
1969	166
1970	158
1971	168
1972	196
1973	183
1974	181
1975	180
1976	176
1977	188
1978	163
1979	172
1980	185
1981	164
1985	169
1986	177
1987	170
1989	163
1990	149
1993	158
1994	176
1995	145
1996	156
1997	162
1998	166
1999	163
2000	133
2001	165
2002	155
2003	175
2004	151
2005	147
2006	139
2008	161
2009	173
2010	162
2011	154
2012	172
2013	162
2014	165
2015	174
2016	177
2017	161
2018	166
2020	155
2021	155
2022	165

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1923	18.6 °C
1924	18.4 °C
1927	19.7 °C
1928	18.1 °C
1929	19.2 °C
1930	20.4 °C
1931	20.0 °C
1932	20.3 °C
1933	20.8 °C
1934	21.8 °C
1935	19.6 °C
1936	21.3 °C
1937	21.3 °C
1938	21.2 °C
1939	21.6 °C
1940	20.2 °C
1941	19.6 °C
1942	19.8 °C
1943	20.4 °C
1944	19.0 °C
1945	18.4 °C
1946	20.9 °C
1947	20.0 °C
1948	20.9 °C
1949	19.5 °C
1950	17.9 °C
1951	18.4 °C
1952	20.9 °C
1953	20.3 °C
1954	21.7 °C
1955	20.9 °C
1956	21.2 °C
1957	19.2 °C
1958	19.8 °C
1959	20.3 °C
1960	20.2 °C
1961	18.9 °C
1962	20.4 °C
1963	22.1 °C
1964	20.9 °C
1965	19.9 °C
1966	20.0 °C
1967	19.1 °C
1968	19.6 °C
1969	20.4 °C
1970	20.6 °C
1971	19.6 °C
1972	19.6 °C
1973	19.0 °C
1974	19.8 °C
1975	19.5 °C
1976	19.7 °C
1977	21.1 °C
1978	20.4 °C
1979	19.7 °C
1981	20.6 °C
1983	19.4 °C
1985	18.7 °C
1986	19.8 °C
1987	19.3 °C
1989	18.5 °C
1990	19.4 °C
1992	17.9 °C
1993	17.4 °C
1994	19.7 °C
1995	17.6 °C
1996	18.2 °C
1997	18.1 °C
1998	19.3 °C
1999	18.4 °C
2000	19.8 °C
2001	19.9 °C
2002	19.9 °C
2003	19.6 °C
2004	18.8 °C
2005	19.3 °C
2006	19.6 °C
2007	19.4 °C
2008	18.1 °C
2009	18.0 °C
2010	19.5 °C
2011	19.4 °C
2012	20.6 °C
2013	19.1 °C
2014	18.7 °C
2015	19.7 °C
2016	19.3 °C
2017	18.8 °C
2018	19.4 °C
2020	18.8 °C
2021	19.4 °C
2022	19.8 °C
2023	19.2 °C
2026	21.1 °C

What this means for you: Since 1923, Oakley'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 Oakley 4w (NOAA GHCN-Daily). Years with too many missing days are left out.

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