When to plant in Detroit Lakes, MN

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

Safe to plant out

May 26

1 year in 10 has a later frost

Average last frost

May 14

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Sep 25

1 year in 10 by Sep 13

Frost-free days

135

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Detroit Lakes 1 Nne · 2.3 km away · station 413 m, town 418 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 31 – Apr 14	May 26 – Jun 9	Jul 20
Sweet pepper	Mar 17 – Mar 31	May 26 – Jun 9	Jul 25
Lettuce (leaf)	Mar 13 – Mar 20	Apr 17 – May 1	May 27
Peas	—	Apr 17 – May 15	Jun 11
Bush beans	—	May 19 – Jun 9	Jul 8
Carrot	—	Apr 24 – Jun 5	Jun 23
Beet	—	Apr 24 – Jun 5	Jun 13
Potato	—	Apr 24 – May 15	Jul 3
Kale	Mar 13 – Mar 27	Apr 24 – May 8	Jun 6
Broccoli	Mar 6 – Mar 20	Apr 17 – May 8	Jun 16
Cucumber	Apr 28 – May 5	May 26 – Jun 9	Jul 15
Summer squash and zucchini	Apr 28 – May 5	May 26 – Jun 9	Jul 10
Winter squash	Apr 28 – May 5	May 26 – Jun 9	Aug 14
Sweet corn	—	May 19 – Jun 9	Jul 18
Onion (from sets)	—	Apr 17 – May 8	Jul 16
Garlic	—	Sep 11 – Oct 9 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Apr 17 – May 15	May 25
Basil	Apr 14 – Apr 28	May 26 – Jun 9	Jul 22

Plan all 65 crops for Detroit Lakes

Detroit Lakes'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
1898	May 16
1899	May 20
1900	Jun 2
1901	Jun 8
1902	May 10
1903	Jun 11
1904	Jun 15
1905	May 28
1907	Jun 5
1908	Jun 10
1909	Jun 14
1910	Jun 2
1911	May 12
1912	Jun 18
1913	Jun 7
1914	May 15
1915	Jun 9
1916	May 19
1917	Jun 15
1918	May 20
1919	May 7
1920	May 1
1921	May 16
1922	Apr 27
1923	May 16
1924	May 31
1925	May 25
1926	May 22
1927	Jun 5
1928	Jun 3
1929	May 20
1930	May 30
1931	May 21
1932	May 27
1933	May 14
1934	May 24
1935	Jun 7
1936	Apr 30
1937	May 17
1938	May 9
1939	May 12
1940	May 16
1941	May 23
1942	May 20
1943	May 13
1944	May 8
1945	Jun 3
1946	Jun 1
1947	May 30
1948	May 7
1949	Apr 24
1950	May 15
1951	Apr 26
1952	May 17
1953	Jun 6
1954	Jun 5
1955	May 10
1956	Jun 1
1957	May 27
1958	Jun 15
1959	May 23
1960	May 12
1961	May 26
1963	May 26
1965	May 29
1966	May 29
1967	May 21
1968	Jun 15
1969	Jun 20
1970	Jun 2
1971	May 27
1972	May 10
1973	May 17
1974	May 15
1975	May 15
1976	May 17
1977	May 7
1978	May 14
1979	May 23
1980	Jun 9
1981	May 19
1982	Jun 2
1983	May 25
1984	May 29
1985	May 7
1986	May 18
1987	Apr 28
1988	May 13
1989	Jun 9
1990	May 20
1991	May 8
1995	May 20
1996	May 12
1998	Jun 7
1999	Apr 23
2000	Apr 21
2001	Apr 24
2002	May 24
2003	May 13
2004	May 18
2005	May 4
2006	May 21
2007	May 17
2008	May 27
2009	Jun 6
2010	May 9
2012	May 12
2014	May 18
2015	May 21
2016	May 15
2017	May 12
2018	Apr 29
2019	May 21
2023	May 2
2024	Apr 23
2025	Apr 28
2026	May 20

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1898	114
1899	115
1901	101
1902	116
1903	84
1904	87
1905	129
1907	108
1908	72
1910	89
1911	134
1912	98
1913	105
1914	111
1915	97
1916	118
1917	78
1918	106
1919	152
1920	150
1921	132
1922	163
1923	119
1924	128
1925	118
1926	112
1927	78
1928	111
1929	108
1930	120
1931	100
1932	112
1933	133
1934	104
1935	110
1936	138
1937	121
1938	132
1939	133
1940	116
1941	124
1942	126
1943	129
1944	153
1945	109
1946	127
1947	114
1948	147
1949	156
1950	139
1951	142
1952	125
1953	107
1954	108
1955	122
1956	96
1957	115
1958	93
1959	115
1960	129
1961	100
1966	108
1967	101
1968	78
1969	87
1970	100
1971	113
1972	117
1973	122
1974	108
1975	118
1976	125
1977	146
1980	99
1981	120
1982	105
1983	120
1984	104
1985	139
1986	101
1987	149
1988	114
1989	92
1990	121
1995	111
1998	115
1999	149
2000	152
2001	152
2002	122
2003	134
2004	94
2005	154
2006	136
2007	117
2008	125
2009	114
2010	158
2012	125
2015	138
2016	121
2017	140
2018	149
2019	139
2023	157
2024	173
2025	162

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1897	15.6 °C
1898	13.9 °C
1899	13.9 °C
1900	15.6 °C
1901	15.3 °C
1902	13.8 °C
1903	13.4 °C
1904	12.5 °C
1905	13.4 °C
1906	14.7 °C
1907	11.8 °C
1908	14.1 °C
1909	14.1 °C
1910	14.8 °C
1911	15.2 °C
1912	14.5 °C
1913	14.6 °C
1914	14.8 °C
1915	13.9 °C
1916	14.0 °C
1917	13.7 °C
1918	13.9 °C
1919	15.9 °C
1920	14.3 °C
1921	16.4 °C
1922	16.5 °C
1923	15.8 °C
1924	13.1 °C
1925	15.7 °C
1926	14.6 °C
1927	13.9 °C
1928	13.9 °C
1929	14.4 °C
1930	16.2 °C
1931	16.2 °C
1932	16.1 °C
1933	16.4 °C
1934	14.9 °C
1935	14.0 °C
1936	15.7 °C
1937	15.1 °C
1938	14.8 °C
1939	15.5 °C
1940	14.3 °C
1941	16.1 °C
1942	13.8 °C
1943	14.6 °C
1944	14.8 °C
1945	13.4 °C
1946	15.5 °C
1947	14.9 °C
1948	16.1 °C
1949	16.1 °C
1950	13.3 °C
1951	13.7 °C
1952	14.6 °C
1953	13.8 °C
1954	13.1 °C
1955	15.7 °C
1956	12.5 °C
1957	13.6 °C
1958	12.9 °C
1959	15.1 °C
1960	14.4 °C
1961	13.3 °C
1963	15.6 °C
1965	13.3 °C
1966	14.0 °C
1967	13.6 °C
1968	14.1 °C
1969	14.5 °C
1970	14.7 °C
1971	14.3 °C
1972	13.8 °C
1973	15.3 °C
1974	14.1 °C
1975	13.4 °C
1976	16.5 °C
1977	16.0 °C
1978	15.0 °C
1979	12.8 °C
1980	14.3 °C
1981	14.8 °C
1982	13.9 °C
1983	15.3 °C
1984	15.5 °C
1985	15.1 °C
1986	15.5 °C
1987	16.9 °C
1988	17.1 °C
1989	14.9 °C
1990	14.5 °C
2007	17.0 °C
2012	16.6 °C
2014	15.1 °C
2015	15.9 °C
2016	15.9 °C
2017	14.5 °C
2018	15.1 °C
2019	14.7 °C
2023	16.1 °C
2024	16.9 °C
2025	16.2 °C

What this means for you: Since 1898, Detroit Lakes's last spring frost has come about 1 day earlier per decade, on average. The frost-free season has grown by about 2 days per decade. Year-to-year swings are large, so keep using the safe date rather than the trend.

Source: daily records from Detroit Lakes 1 Nne (NOAA GHCN-Daily). Years with too many missing days are left out.

Nearby towns

Frazee Perham Pelican Rapids Hawley Barnesville New York Mills