When to plant in Saint Cloud, MN

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

Safe to plant out

May 22

1 year in 10 has a later frost

Average last frost

May 9

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Sep 26

1 year in 10 by Sep 15

Frost-free days

145

median, 1991–2020

Station used: St Cloud Rgnl Ap · 8.8 km away · station 310 m, town 314 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 27 – Apr 10	May 22 – Jun 5	Jul 16
Sweet pepper	Mar 13 – Mar 27	May 22 – Jun 5	Jul 21
Lettuce (leaf)	Mar 10 – Mar 17	Apr 14 – Apr 28	May 24
Peas	—	Apr 14 – May 12	Jun 8
Bush beans	—	May 15 – Jun 5	Jul 4
Carrot	—	Apr 22 – Jun 3	Jun 21
Beet	—	Apr 22 – Jun 3	Jun 11
Potato	—	Apr 22 – May 13	Jul 1
Kale	Mar 10 – Mar 24	Apr 21 – May 5	Jun 3
Broccoli	Mar 3 – Mar 17	Apr 14 – May 5	Jun 13
Cucumber	Apr 24 – May 1	May 22 – Jun 5	Jul 11
Summer squash and zucchini	Apr 24 – May 1	May 22 – Jun 5	Jul 6
Winter squash	Apr 24 – May 1	May 22 – Jun 5	Aug 10
Sweet corn	—	May 15 – Jun 5	Jul 14
Onion (from sets)	—	Apr 14 – May 5	Jul 13
Garlic	—	Sep 12 – Oct 10 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Apr 14 – May 12	May 22
Basil	Apr 10 – Apr 24	May 22 – Jun 5	Jul 18

Plan all 65 crops for Saint Cloud

Saint Cloud'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
1940	May 3
1941	May 10
1942	May 16
1943	May 17
1944	May 6
1945	May 15
1946	May 12
1947	May 29
1948	May 8
1949	May 24
1950	May 2
1951	Apr 26
1952	Apr 24
1953	May 16
1954	May 8
1955	May 8
1956	May 16
1957	May 16
1958	May 6
1959	May 16
1960	May 11
1961	May 19
1962	Apr 23
1963	May 23
1964	Apr 20
1965	Apr 28
1966	May 10
1967	May 20
1968	May 5
1969	May 12
1970	May 2
1971	May 19
1972	May 3
1973	May 17
1974	May 25
1975	May 2
1976	May 18
1977	May 2
1978	May 3
1979	May 21
1980	May 15
1981	May 19
1982	May 8
1983	May 26
1984	May 29
1985	Apr 26
1986	May 21
1987	May 4
1988	May 17
1989	May 27
1990	May 11
1991	May 3
1992	May 26
1993	Jun 1
1994	May 10
1995	May 24
1996	May 13
1997	May 21
1998	Apr 29
1999	Apr 25
2000	May 19
2001	Apr 25
2002	May 20
2003	May 2
2004	May 15
2005	May 4
2006	May 22
2007	Apr 15
2008	Apr 29
2009	May 11
2010	May 9
2011	May 4
2012	Apr 23
2013	May 13
2014	Apr 25
2015	May 20
2016	May 15
2017	May 1
2018	Apr 28
2019	May 10
2020	May 12
2021	May 12
2022	Apr 28
2023	Apr 26
2024	Apr 21

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1940	131
1941	140
1942	130
1943	121
1944	155
1945	135
1946	113
1947	115
1948	146
1949	126
1950	144
1951	150
1952	162
1953	128
1954	136
1955	125
1956	130
1957	126
1958	147
1959	123
1960	141
1961	128
1962	149
1963	157
1964	168
1965	149
1966	138
1967	126
1968	150
1969	152
1970	159
1971	122
1972	141
1973	123
1974	98
1975	133
1976	126
1977	152
1978	156
1979	137
1980	130
1981	121
1982	135
1983	118
1984	118
1985	147
1986	136
1987	150
1988	138
1989	108
1990	140
1991	138
1992	115
1993	108
1994	151
1995	118
1996	122
1997	122
1998	145
1999	148
2000	124
2001	151
2002	126
2003	145
2004	136
2005	155
2006	120
2007	149
2008	157
2009	149
2010	146
2011	133
2012	151
2013	152
2014	162
2015	132
2016	144
2017	160
2018	152
2019	153
2020	120
2021	157
2022	152
2023	166
2024	165

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1940	15.7 °C
1941	17.1 °C
1942	14.9 °C
1943	15.2 °C
1944	15.3 °C
1945	13.6 °C
1946	15.2 °C
1947	15.3 °C
1948	16.6 °C
1949	16.5 °C
1950	14.0 °C
1951	14.6 °C
1952	16.1 °C
1953	15.5 °C
1954	14.8 °C
1955	17.5 °C
1956	14.8 °C
1957	15.2 °C
1958	15.2 °C
1959	16.5 °C
1960	15.6 °C
1961	15.2 °C
1962	15.1 °C
1963	16.5 °C
1964	16.4 °C
1965	14.5 °C
1966	15.2 °C
1967	14.7 °C
1968	15.5 °C
1969	16.1 °C
1970	16.2 °C
1971	15.6 °C
1972	14.8 °C
1973	15.4 °C
1974	14.5 °C
1975	15.2 °C
1976	16.4 °C
1977	16.9 °C
1978	15.9 °C
1979	14.3 °C
1980	16.1 °C
1981	15.9 °C
1982	15.1 °C
1983	15.8 °C
1984	15.7 °C
1985	15.4 °C
1986	15.7 °C
1987	17.1 °C
1988	17.7 °C
1989	15.8 °C
1990	15.6 °C
1991	16.5 °C
1992	14.1 °C
1993	14.2 °C
1994	15.6 °C
1995	15.5 °C
1996	14.8 °C
1997	15.1 °C
1998	17.1 °C
1999	16.2 °C
2000	15.5 °C
2001	16.4 °C
2002	15.8 °C
2003	15.9 °C
2004	15.3 °C
2005	17.2 °C
2006	17.2 °C
2007	17.0 °C
2008	15.4 °C
2009	15.4 °C
2010	17.0 °C
2011	16.4 °C
2012	17.5 °C
2013	15.5 °C
2014	16.5 °C
2015	16.5 °C
2016	16.6 °C
2017	16.0 °C
2018	16.1 °C
2019	15.6 °C
2020	16.1 °C
2021	17.1 °C
2022	16.5 °C
2023	17.6 °C
2024	17.9 °C

What this means for you: Since 1940, Saint Cloud's last spring frost has stayed at about the same time of year. 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 St Cloud Rgnl Ap (NOAA GHCN-Daily). Years with too many missing days are left out.

Nearby towns

Sauk Rapids Waite Park Sartell Saint Augusta Saint Augusta (near Waite Park)Saint Joseph