When to plant in Charleston, MO

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

Safe to plant out

Apr 8

1 year in 10 has a later frost

Average last frost

Mar 27

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Oct 31

1 year in 10 by Oct 20

Frost-free days

217

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Cairo 3n · 19.9 km away · station 95 m, town 98 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	Feb 11 – Feb 25	Apr 8 – Apr 22	Jun 2
Sweet pepper	Jan 28 – Feb 11	Apr 8 – Apr 22	Jun 7
Lettuce (leaf)	Jan 25 – Feb 1	Mar 1 – Mar 15	Apr 10
Peas	—	Mar 1 – Mar 29	Apr 25
Bush beans	—	Apr 1 – Apr 22	May 21
Carrot	—	Mar 12 – Apr 23	May 11
Beet	—	Mar 12 – Apr 23	May 1
Potato	—	Mar 12 – Apr 2	May 21
Kale	Jan 25 – Feb 8	Mar 8 – Mar 22	Apr 20
Broccoli	Jan 18 – Feb 1	Mar 1 – Mar 22	Apr 30
Cucumber	Mar 11 – Mar 18	Apr 8 – Apr 22	May 28
Summer squash and zucchini	Mar 11 – Mar 18	Apr 8 – Apr 22	May 23
Winter squash	Mar 11 – Mar 18	Apr 8 – Apr 22	Jun 27
Sweet corn	—	Apr 1 – Apr 22	May 31
Onion (from sets)	—	Mar 1 – Mar 22	May 30
Garlic	—	Oct 17 – Nov 14 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Mar 1 – Mar 29	Apr 8
Basil	Feb 25 – Mar 11	Apr 8 – Apr 22	Jun 4

Plan all 65 crops for Charleston

Charleston'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
1908	Feb 28
1909	Mar 17
1910	Apr 24
1911	Mar 16
1912	Mar 25
1913	Mar 28
1914	Apr 9
1915	Apr 3
1916	Mar 23
1917	Mar 6
1918	Apr 10
1919	Apr 1
1920	Apr 13
1921	Mar 29
1922	Mar 4
1923	Apr 1
1924	Apr 2
1925	Mar 15
1926	Apr 1
1927	Mar 4
1928	Apr 15
1929	Mar 10
1930	Mar 27
1931	Mar 20
1932	Mar 15
1933	Mar 22
1934	Mar 28
1935	Mar 12
1936	Apr 3
1937	Mar 29
1938	Mar 1
1939	Apr 12
1940	Apr 12
1941	Mar 25
1942	Mar 9
1943	Mar 22
1944	Apr 5
1945	Mar 7
1946	Mar 9
1947	Mar 28
1949	Mar 19
1950	Apr 14
1951	Mar 24
1952	Mar 23
1953	Mar 9
1954	Apr 1
1955	Mar 28
1956	Mar 20
1957	Apr 13
1958	Mar 21
1959	Mar 22
1960	Apr 10
1961	Feb 26
1962	Mar 17
1963	Mar 2
1964	Mar 30
1965	Mar 27
1966	Mar 27
1967	Mar 18
1968	Mar 24
1969	Mar 31
1970	Mar 17
1971	Mar 24
1972	Apr 8
1973	Feb 28
1974	Mar 25
1975	Mar 30
1976	Mar 17
1977	Feb 28
1978	Mar 18
1979	Mar 26
1980	Mar 18
1981	Mar 9
1982	Apr 7
1983	Mar 25
1984	Mar 14
1985	Mar 6
1986	Mar 22
1987	Apr 4
1995	Apr 2
1998	Mar 13
1999	Mar 27
2000	Apr 8
2001	Mar 28
2002	Mar 27
2003	Mar 31
2004	Mar 21
2005	Mar 19
2006	Mar 30
2007	Apr 10
2008	Mar 25
2009	Apr 8
2011	Mar 11
2012	Mar 6
2013	Apr 6
2021	Mar 6

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1908	249
1909	244
1910	187
1911	230
1912	221
1913	214
1914	200
1915	225
1916	234
1917	230
1918	227
1919	224
1920	198
1921	227
1922	256
1923	212
1924	230
1925	226
1926	221
1927	246
1928	218
1929	254
1930	217
1931	249
1932	239
1933	230
1934	250
1935	254
1936	213
1937	208
1938	251
1939	206
1940	213
1941	229
1942	230
1943	208
1944	238
1945	258
1946	253
1947	228
1949	226
1950	204
1951	222
1952	211
1953	241
1954	214
1955	219
1956	233
1957	197
1958	249
1959	228
1960	212
1961	253
1962	232
1963	266
1964	233
1965	246
1966	219
1967	230
1968	232
1969	226
1970	242
1971	227
1972	228
1973	253
1974	233
1975	227
1976	231
1977	269
1978	260
1979	229
1980	225
1981	227
1982	210
1983	248
1984	243
1985	258
1986	234
1998	237
1999	209
2000	181
2001	212
2002	218
2003	226
2004	247
2005	222
2006	207
2007	205
2008	216
2009	192
2011	244
2012	239
2021	242

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1908	22.4 °C
1909	22.0 °C
1910	21.4 °C
1911	23.1 °C
1912	21.9 °C
1913	22.7 °C
1914	23.1 °C
1915	22.1 °C
1916	22.2 °C
1917	21.0 °C
1918	21.8 °C
1919	22.5 °C
1920	21.4 °C
1921	23.3 °C
1922	23.0 °C
1923	21.8 °C
1924	20.9 °C
1925	23.7 °C
1926	22.0 °C
1927	22.0 °C
1928	21.0 °C
1929	21.8 °C
1930	23.3 °C
1931	22.6 °C
1932	22.8 °C
1933	23.1 °C
1934	23.2 °C
1935	21.8 °C
1936	23.6 °C
1937	22.7 °C
1938	22.8 °C
1939	22.7 °C
1940	21.5 °C
1941	23.8 °C
1942	22.7 °C
1943	23.0 °C
1944	23.2 °C
1945	22.1 °C
1946	22.5 °C
1947	22.9 °C
1949	22.7 °C
1950	21.6 °C
1951	22.3 °C
1952	23.6 °C
1953	23.6 °C
1954	24.3 °C
1955	23.9 °C
1956	23.0 °C
1957	23.0 °C
1958	22.6 °C
1959	23.3 °C
1960	23.1 °C
1961	21.6 °C
1962	23.0 °C
1963	23.0 °C
1964	23.5 °C
1965	23.2 °C
1966	21.8 °C
1967	21.6 °C
1968	22.6 °C
1969	22.9 °C
1970	23.3 °C
1971	22.4 °C
1972	22.5 °C
1973	22.4 °C
1974	21.6 °C
1975	22.8 °C
1976	21.8 °C
1977	24.4 °C
1978	23.5 °C
1979	22.5 °C
1980	23.9 °C
1981	23.0 °C
1982	22.2 °C
1983	23.2 °C
1984	22.3 °C
1985	22.7 °C
1986	23.5 °C
1987	24.1 °C
1995	21.8 °C
1998	23.3 °C
1999	22.4 °C
2000	21.8 °C
2001	22.2 °C
2002	22.8 °C
2003	21.2 °C
2004	21.4 °C
2005	22.3 °C
2006	21.9 °C
2007	22.5 °C
2008	21.6 °C
2009	21.5 °C
2011	22.5 °C
2012	23.4 °C
2013	21.0 °C
2021	21.9 °C

What this means for you: Since 1908, Charleston's last spring frost has stayed at about the same time of year. Year-to-year swings are large, so keep using the safe date rather than the trend.

Source: daily records from Cairo 3n (NOAA GHCN-Daily). Years with too many missing days are left out.

Nearby towns

East Prairie Cairo, IL Sikeston Oran Scott City La Center, KY