When to plant in Iron River, MI

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

Safe to plant out

Jun 15

1 year in 10 has a later frost

Average last frost

Jun 6

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Sep 4

1 year in 10 by Aug 14

Frost-free days

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Stambaugh 2sse · 4.3 km away · station 442 m, town 461 m. How we match towns to stations

This season

Plan your garden.

Build my Iron River plan

Planting dates for common crops

Crop	Start indoors	Plant out or sow	Harvest from
Tomato	Apr 20 – May 4	Jun 15 – Jun 29	Aug 9
Sweet pepper	Apr 6 – Apr 20	Jun 15 – Jun 29	Aug 14
Lettuce (leaf)	Apr 4 – Apr 11	May 9 – May 23	Jun 18
Peas	—	Apr 28 – May 26	Jun 22
Bush beans	—	Jun 8 – Jun 29	Jul 28
Carrot	—	May 16 – Jun 27	Jul 15
Beet	—	May 9 – Jun 20	Jun 28
Potato	—	May 16 – Jun 6	Jul 25
Kale	Mar 28 – Apr 11	May 9 – May 23	Jun 21
Broccoli	Mar 28 – Apr 11	May 9 – May 30	Jul 8
Cucumber	May 18 – May 25	Jun 15 – Jun 29	Aug 4
Summer squash and zucchini	May 18 – May 25	Jun 15 – Jun 29	Jul 30
Winter squash Season likely too short	May 18 – May 25	Jun 15 – Jun 29	Sep 3
Sweet corn	—	Jun 8 – Jun 29	Aug 7
Onion (from sets)	—	May 9 – May 30	Aug 7
Garlic	—	Aug 21 – Sep 18 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Apr 28 – May 26	Jun 5
Basil	May 4 – May 18	Jun 15 – Jun 29	Aug 11

Plan all 65 crops for Iron River

Iron River'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 21
1924	Jun 16
1925	Jun 29
1926	Jun 19
1927	Jun 15
1928	Jun 15
1929	Jun 8
1930	May 30
1931	Jun 8
1932	Jun 8
1933	Jun 14
1934	May 24
1935	May 22
1936	May 19
1937	May 14
1938	May 23
1939	May 18
1940	Jun 19
1941	May 17
1942	May 27
1943	May 14
1944	Jun 7
1945	Jun 5
1946	Jun 2
1947	Jun 12
1948	May 29
1949	Jun 8
1950	May 27
1951	May 23
1952	May 18
1953	May 23
1954	May 26
1955	May 17
1956	Jun 2
1957	Jun 2
1958	Jun 14
1959	May 16
1960	May 13
1961	May 30
1962	Jun 2
1963	Jun 21
1964	Jun 16
1965	Jun 30
1966	Jun 10
1967	Jul 5
1968	Jul 10
1969	Jun 16
1970	Jun 25
1971	Jun 9
1972	Jul 4
1973	May 30
1974	Jun 25
1975	Jun 8
1976	May 25
1977	Jun 21
1978	Jun 14
1979	Jun 24
1980	Jun 16
1981	May 31
1982	Jun 26
1983	Jun 10
1984	May 29
1985	Jun 6
1986	Jul 3
1987	Jun 4
1988	Jul 1
1989	Jun 29
1990	Jun 5
1991	May 20
1992	Jun 27
1993	Jun 5
1994	Jun 8
1995	May 22
1996	Jun 5
1997	May 27
1998	Jun 5
1999	Jun 15
2000	Jun 3
2001	Jun 5
2004	Jun 4
2005	May 29
2006	Jun 11
2008	Jun 1
2009	Jun 15
2010	Jun 7
2011	Jun 12
2012	Jun 13
2013	Jun 18
2014	May 18
2015	Jun 6
2016	Jun 12
2017	Jun 1
2018	Jun 11
2019	Jun 3
2020	Jun 15
2021	May 30
2022	Jun 4
2023	Jun 12
2024	Jun 11
2025	Jun 1
2026	May 22

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1923	114
1925	58
1926	85
1927	60
1928	81
1929	101
1930	72
1931	83
1932	90
1934	113
1935	100
1936	119
1937	120
1938	130
1939	115
1940	97
1941	134
1942	115
1943	120
1944	92
1945	81
1946	92
1947	101
1948	115
1949	107
1950	112
1951	127
1952	111
1953	113
1954	119
1955	116
1956	97
1957	97
1958	88
1959	117
1960	127
1961	117
1962	75
1963	57
1964	53
1965	59
1966	96
1967	36
1969	64
1970	66
1971	74
1972	30
1973	101
1974	65
1975	92
1976	81
1977	57
1978	93
1979	51
1980	92
1981	77
1982	62
1983	94
1984	109
1985	96
1986	55
1987	90
1988	66
1989	74
1991	121
1992	23
1993	87
1994	85
1995	108
1996	105
1997	78
1998	95
1999	75
2000	45
2001	87
2005	115
2006	89
2008	84
2009	75
2010	93
2011	85
2012	88
2013	56
2014	115
2015	97
2016	112
2017	84
2018	102
2019	126
2020	86
2021	110
2022	110
2023	117
2024	102
2025	127

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1923	13.7 °C
1924	11.5 °C
1925	13.5 °C
1926	12.2 °C
1927	12.4 °C
1928	12.1 °C
1929	13.1 °C
1930	13.9 °C
1931	14.4 °C
1932	13.5 °C
1934	13.2 °C
1935	12.6 °C
1936	13.2 °C
1937	14.1 °C
1938	13.3 °C
1939	14.1 °C
1940	12.8 °C
1941	15.3 °C
1942	14.0 °C
1943	13.9 °C
1944	14.7 °C
1945	12.7 °C
1946	13.7 °C
1947	13.5 °C
1948	14.7 °C
1949	14.7 °C
1950	11.9 °C
1951	13.0 °C
1952	14.5 °C
1953	13.9 °C
1954	13.0 °C
1955	15.9 °C
1956	12.9 °C
1957	13.8 °C
1958	13.2 °C
1959	14.8 °C
1960	13.6 °C
1961	13.3 °C
1962	13.2 °C
1963	13.6 °C
1964	13.6 °C
1965	12.6 °C
1966	12.8 °C
1967	12.0 °C
1969	13.1 °C
1970	14.0 °C
1971	12.8 °C
1972	12.7 °C
1973	13.4 °C
1974	12.5 °C
1975	13.2 °C
1976	13.7 °C
1977	14.5 °C
1978	13.7 °C
1979	12.7 °C
1980	14.1 °C
1981	13.4 °C
1982	12.7 °C
1983	13.1 °C
1984	13.0 °C
1985	12.5 °C
1986	13.3 °C
1987	13.8 °C
1988	13.7 °C
1989	12.1 °C
1990	12.3 °C
1991	13.6 °C
1992	10.8 °C
1993	11.3 °C
1994	12.2 °C
1995	12.5 °C
1996	11.4 °C
1997	11.4 °C
1998	14.0 °C
1999	13.5 °C
2000	12.2 °C
2001	13.4 °C
2002	12.9 °C
2003	12.2 °C
2005	13.6 °C
2006	13.1 °C
2007	13.1 °C
2008	11.9 °C
2009	11.2 °C
2010	13.8 °C
2011	12.6 °C
2012	13.3 °C
2013	11.9 °C
2014	11.4 °C
2015	13.1 °C
2016	13.2 °C
2017	12.6 °C
2018	13.0 °C
2019	12.1 °C
2020	12.3 °C
2021	13.3 °C
2022	12.8 °C
2023	12.8 °C
2024	13.1 °C
2025	12.7 °C
2026	13.3 °C

What this means for you: Since 1923, Iron River'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 Stambaugh 2sse (NOAA GHCN-Daily). Years with too many missing days are left out.

Nearby towns

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