When to plant in Lake Shore, MN

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

Safe to plant out

May 16

1 year in 10 has a later frost

Average last frost

May 5

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Oct 4

1 year in 10 by Sep 25

Frost-free days

152

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Gull Lake Dam · 8.2 km away · station 370 m, town 379 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 21 – Apr 4	May 16 – May 30	Jul 10
Sweet pepper	Mar 7 – Mar 21	May 16 – May 30	Jul 15
Lettuce (leaf)	Mar 16 – Mar 23	Apr 20 – May 4	May 30
Peas	—	Apr 20 – May 18	Jun 14
Bush beans	—	May 10 – May 31	Jun 29
Carrot	—	Apr 27 – Jun 8	Jun 26
Beet	—	Apr 27 – Jun 8	Jun 16
Potato	—	Apr 27 – May 18	Jul 6
Kale	Mar 16 – Mar 30	Apr 27 – May 11	Jun 9
Broccoli	Mar 9 – Mar 23	Apr 20 – May 11	Jun 19
Cucumber	Apr 18 – Apr 25	May 16 – May 30	Jul 5
Summer squash and zucchini	Apr 18 – Apr 25	May 16 – May 30	Jun 30
Winter squash	Apr 18 – Apr 25	May 16 – May 30	Aug 4
Sweet corn	—	May 10 – May 31	Jul 9
Onion (from sets)	—	Apr 20 – May 11	Jul 19
Garlic	—	Sep 20 – Oct 18 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Apr 20 – May 18	May 28
Basil	Apr 4 – Apr 18	May 16 – May 30	Jul 12

Plan all 65 crops for Lake Shore

Lake Shore'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
1911	May 3
1912	May 16
1913	Jun 8
1914	May 15
1915	May 19
1916	May 17
1917	May 28
1918	May 23
1949	Apr 27
1950	May 8
1951	May 11
1952	Apr 24
1953	May 16
1954	May 8
1955	Apr 29
1956	May 16
1957	May 16
1958	May 9
1959	May 16
1960	May 11
1961	May 26
1962	May 2
1963	May 23
1964	May 13
1965	May 29
1966	May 13
1967	May 20
1968	May 9
1969	May 12
1970	May 6
1971	May 3
1972	Apr 26
1973	May 17
1974	May 15
1975	May 2
1976	May 8
1977	May 8
1978	May 2
1979	May 21
1980	May 15
1981	May 13
1982	May 8
1983	May 17
1984	May 27
1985	Apr 18
1986	May 3
1989	May 7
1990	May 11
1991	May 2
1992	May 5
1993	May 16
1994	May 10
1995	May 6
1996	May 12
1997	May 13
1998	Apr 28
1999	Apr 25
2000	May 19
2001	Apr 24
2002	May 20
2003	May 2
2004	May 16
2005	May 4
2006	Apr 9
2008	May 12
2009	Apr 28
2010	May 9
2011	May 4
2012	Apr 23
2013	May 10
2014	Apr 26
2016	May 15
2017	Apr 29
2019	May 10
2021	May 12
2022	May 4
2023	May 3
2024	Apr 21
2025	Apr 26
2026	May 20

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1911	145
1912	132
1913	105
1914	151
1915	138
1916	120
1917	104
1918	103
1949	154
1950	147
1951	139
1952	162
1953	128
1954	150
1955	155
1956	130
1957	126
1958	144
1959	123
1960	141
1961	121
1962	140
1963	112
1964	124
1965	118
1966	134
1967	126
1968	147
1969	153
1970	144
1971	142
1972	156
1973	125
1974	129
1975	152
1976	138
1977	147
1978	158
1979	138
1980	133
1981	137
1983	128
1984	121
1985	159
1986	158
1989	141
1990	150
1991	140
1992	145
1993	133
1994	152
1995	137
1996	143
1997	153
1998	156
1999	159
2000	127
2002	139
2003	151
2004	140
2005	155
2008	144
2009	163
2012	156
2013	162
2014	166
2017	164
2019	154
2021	162
2022	146
2023	166
2024	177
2025	164

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1911	15.2 °C
1913	15.5 °C
1914	15.3 °C
1915	14.3 °C
1916	14.4 °C
1918	14.6 °C
1949	16.3 °C
1950	13.5 °C
1951	14.3 °C
1952	16.3 °C
1953	15.4 °C
1954	14.6 °C
1955	17.4 °C
1956	14.7 °C
1957	15.1 °C
1958	15.1 °C
1959	16.2 °C
1960	15.5 °C
1961	15.2 °C
1962	14.5 °C
1963	16.1 °C
1964	15.4 °C
1965	13.7 °C
1966	14.4 °C
1967	13.8 °C
1968	15.2 °C
1969	15.6 °C
1970	15.6 °C
1971	15.0 °C
1972	15.1 °C
1973	15.7 °C
1974	14.7 °C
1975	15.3 °C
1976	17.0 °C
1977	16.9 °C
1978	16.2 °C
1979	14.3 °C
1980	16.2 °C
1981	15.6 °C
1983	16.3 °C
1984	16.0 °C
1985	15.6 °C
1986	16.2 °C
1987	16.9 °C
1988	17.4 °C
1989	15.1 °C
1990	15.1 °C
1991	16.3 °C
1992	13.4 °C
1993	12.6 °C
1994	14.2 °C
1995	13.7 °C
1996	13.1 °C
1997	14.2 °C
1998	16.7 °C
1999	15.7 °C
2000	14.6 °C
2002	15.0 °C
2003	15.5 °C
2004	14.2 °C
2005	16.1 °C
2006	16.7 °C
2007	17.2 °C
2008	14.4 °C
2010	16.1 °C
2011	15.2 °C
2012	16.5 °C
2013	14.8 °C
2014	14.8 °C
2016	16.5 °C
2017	15.5 °C
2019	15.0 °C
2020	15.3 °C
2021	16.4 °C
2022	14.8 °C
2023	16.5 °C
2024	16.6 °C
2025	16.2 °C
2026	16.2 °C

What this means for you: Since 1911, Lake Shore's last spring frost has come about 1 day 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 Gull Lake Dam (NOAA GHCN-Daily). Years with too many missing days are left out.

Nearby towns

Nisswa East Gull Lake Pequot Lakes Breezy Point Baxter Brainerd