When to plant in Blooming Prairie, MN

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

Safe to plant out
May 15
1 year in 10 has a later frost
Average last frost
May 3
about a 50% chance of a later one
Average first fall frost
Oct 1
1 year in 10 by Sep 19
Frost-free days
149
median, 1991–2020

Station used: Austin Waste Wtp Facility · 24.4 km away · station 366 m, town 394 m. How we match towns to stations

This season

Plan your garden.

Build my Blooming Prairie plan

Planting dates for common crops

CropStart indoorsPlant out or sowHarvest from
Tomato Mar 20 – Apr 3 May 15 – May 29 Jul 9
Sweet pepper Mar 6 – Mar 20 May 15 – May 29 Jul 14
Lettuce (leaf) Mar 7 – Mar 14 Apr 11 – Apr 25 May 21
Peas — Apr 11 – May 9 Jun 5
Bush beans — May 8 – May 29 Jun 27
Carrot — Apr 21 – Jun 2 Jun 20
Beet — Apr 21 – Jun 2 Jun 10
Potato — Apr 21 – May 12 Jun 30
Kale Mar 7 – Mar 21 Apr 18 – May 2 May 31
Broccoli Feb 28 – Mar 14 Apr 11 – May 2 Jun 10
Cucumber Apr 17 – Apr 24 May 15 – May 29 Jul 4
Summer squash and zucchini Apr 17 – Apr 24 May 15 – May 29 Jun 29
Winter squash Apr 17 – Apr 24 May 15 – May 29 Aug 3
Sweet corn — May 8 – May 29 Jul 7
Onion (from sets) — Apr 11 – May 2 Jul 10
Garlic — Sep 17 – Oct 15 (fall) following summer
Spinach — Apr 11 – May 9 May 19
Basil Apr 3 – Apr 17 May 15 – May 29 Jul 11

Plan all 65 crops for Blooming Prairie

Blooming Prairie's weather over time

How the growing season has shifted here, year by year, from the station's own records.

Apr 15May 1May 15Jun 1 194019501960197019801990200020102020
Each year's last spring frostLong-term trend
See the data as a table
YearLast spring frost
1938May 12
1939May 13
1940May 11
1941May 24
1942May 21
1943May 14
1944May 7
1945Jun 4
1946May 12
1947May 30
1948May 14
1949Apr 24
1950May 7
1951May 11
1952Apr 24
1953May 13
1954May 20
1955May 8
1956May 16
1957May 5
1958May 9
1959May 8
1960May 12
1961May 27
1962Apr 23
1963May 23
1964Apr 15
1965May 29
1966May 10
1967May 20
1968May 17
1969May 12
1970May 3
1971May 12
1972Apr 25
1973May 17
1974May 13
1976May 7
1977Apr 8
1978May 2
1980May 15
1981May 10
1982Apr 27
1983Apr 24
1984Apr 30
1985Apr 9
1986Apr 22
1987Apr 11
1988Apr 21
1989May 7
1990May 2
1991May 2
1992May 6
1993Apr 26
1994May 6
1995Apr 28
1996May 13
1997May 16
1998Apr 27
1999Apr 23
2000May 14
2001Apr 24
2002May 10
2003Apr 22
2004May 16
2005May 5
2006Apr 26
2007Apr 17
2008Apr 30
2009May 17
2010May 10
2011May 4
2012Apr 30
2013May 4
2014Apr 30
2015Apr 24
2016May 15
2017Apr 28
2018Apr 28
2019Apr 29
2020May 13
2021May 12
2022Apr 28
2023May 3
2024Apr 23
2025Apr 16

What this means for you: Since 1938, Blooming Prairie's last spring frost has come about 2 days earlier per decade, on average. The frost-free season has grown by about 3 days per decade. Year-to-year swings are large, so keep using the safe date rather than the trend.

Source: daily records from Austin Waste Wtp Facility (NOAA GHCN-Daily). Years with too many missing days are left out.

Nearby towns