When to plant in Paynesville, MN

Planting dates worked out from Paynesville'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 7
1 year in 10 by Sep 26
Frost-free days
156
median, 1991–2020

Station used: New London · 19.6 km away · station 381 m, town 357 m. How we match towns to stations

This season

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Planting dates for common crops

CropStart indoorsPlant out or sowHarvest 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) Mar 6 – Mar 13 Apr 10 – Apr 24 May 20
Peas — Apr 10 – May 8 Jun 4
Bush beans — May 7 – May 28 Jun 26
Carrot — Apr 19 – May 31 Jun 18
Beet — Apr 19 – May 31 Jun 8
Potato — Apr 19 – May 10 Jun 28
Kale Mar 6 – Mar 20 Apr 17 – May 1 May 30
Broccoli Feb 27 – Mar 13 Apr 10 – May 1 Jun 9
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 10 – May 1 Jul 9
Garlic — Sep 23 – Oct 21 (fall) following summer
Spinach — Apr 10 – May 8 May 18
Basil Apr 2 – Apr 16 May 14 – May 28 Jul 10

Plan all 65 crops for Paynesville

Paynesville's weather over time

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

Apr 1Apr 15May 1May 15Jun 1Jun 15 19001910192019301940195019601970198019902000
Each year's last spring frostLong-term trend
See the data as a table
YearLast spring frost
1895May 21
1896Apr 21
1897Jun 8
1898May 11
1899May 13
1900Jun 12
1901May 12
1902Apr 25
1903May 2
1904Apr 28
1905May 9
1906May 8
1907May 27
1908May 7
1909May 10
1910Jun 2
1911May 12
1913Apr 27
1914May 12
1915May 19
1916May 3
1917May 5
1918May 13
1919May 5
1920Apr 28
1921May 16
1922Apr 26
1923May 13
1924May 25
1925May 24
1926May 22
1927Apr 23
1928Apr 26
1929May 20
1930May 17
1931May 21
1932May 1
1933May 10
1934May 16
1935May 4
1937Apr 25
1938May 8
1939May 12
1940May 3
1941Apr 24
1942May 15
1943May 17
1944May 6
1945May 17
1946May 17
1947May 29
1948Apr 13
1949May 24
1950May 1
1951Apr 23
1952Apr 17
1953May 13
1954May 8
1955May 8
1956May 4
1957May 4
1958May 1
1959May 15
1960May 8
1961May 9
1962Apr 23
1963May 23
1964Apr 18
1965Apr 28
1966May 11
1967May 20
1968May 18
1969May 12
1970May 2
1976May 7
1977Apr 8
1978May 2
1979May 21
1980May 9
1981May 11
1982May 7
1983May 9
1984May 8
1985Apr 9
1986May 2
1987Apr 5
1988Apr 28
1989May 7
1990May 2
1991May 2
1992May 5
1993Apr 30
1994May 5
1995Apr 27
1996May 13
1997May 20
1998Apr 17
1999Apr 24
2000Apr 21
2001Apr 25
2002May 10
2003Apr 22
2004May 26
2005May 12
2006Apr 25
2007Apr 15
2008May 11
2009Apr 29

What this means for you: Since 1895, Paynesville'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 New London (NOAA GHCN-Daily). Years with too many missing days are left out.

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