When to plant in Sikeston, MO

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

Safe to plant out

Apr 3

1 year in 10 has a later frost

Average last frost

Mar 22

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Nov 4

1 year in 10 by Oct 21

Frost-free days

221

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Sikeston Pwr Stn · 3.1 km away · station 94 m, town 100 m. How we match towns to stations

This season

Plan your garden.

Build my Sikeston plan

Planting dates for common crops

Crop	Start indoors	Plant out or sow	Harvest from
Tomato	Feb 6 – Feb 20	Apr 3 – Apr 17	May 28
Sweet pepper	Jan 23 – Feb 6	Apr 3 – Apr 17	Jun 2
Lettuce (leaf)	Jan 25 – Feb 1	Mar 1 – Mar 15	Apr 10
Peas	—	Mar 1 – Mar 29	Apr 25
Bush beans	—	Mar 27 – Apr 17	May 16
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 6 – Mar 13	Apr 3 – Apr 17	May 23
Summer squash and zucchini	Mar 6 – Mar 13	Apr 3 – Apr 17	May 18
Winter squash	Mar 6 – Mar 13	Apr 3 – Apr 17	Jun 22
Sweet corn	—	Mar 27 – Apr 17	May 26
Onion (from sets)	—	Mar 1 – Mar 22	May 30
Garlic	—	Oct 21 – Nov 18 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Mar 1 – Mar 29	Apr 8
Basil	Feb 20 – Mar 6	Apr 3 – Apr 17	May 30

Plan all 65 crops for Sikeston

Sikeston'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
1951	Apr 17
1952	Apr 7
1953	Apr 20
1954	Apr 2
1955	Apr 8
1956	Apr 8
1957	Apr 14
1958	Apr 8
1959	Mar 28
1960	May 1
1961	Apr 7
1962	Apr 16
1963	Mar 22
1964	Apr 9
1965	Mar 27
1967	Mar 19
1968	Apr 7
1969	Apr 1
1970	Mar 28
1971	Apr 8
1972	Apr 10
1974	Apr 10
1975	Apr 5
1976	May 5
1977	Mar 22
1978	Mar 26
1979	Apr 7
1980	Mar 19
1981	Mar 24
1988	Apr 18
1989	Mar 22
1990	Apr 12
1991	Mar 30
1992	Apr 3
1993	Apr 1
1994	Apr 9
1995	Apr 3
1997	Apr 10
1998	Mar 14
1999	Mar 27
2000	Mar 13
2001	Mar 27
2003	Mar 9
2005	Mar 19
2008	Mar 25
2009	Mar 14
2010	Mar 7
2011	Mar 1
2012	Mar 6
2013	Mar 28
2014	Mar 27
2015	Mar 29
2016	Apr 1
2017	Mar 17
2019	Mar 8
2021	Apr 3

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1951	198
1952	182
1953	192
1954	210
1955	205
1956	214
1957	195
1958	208
1959	213
1960	171
1961	201
1962	190
1963	220
1964	184
1965	210
1967	229
1968	200
1969	209
1970	220
1971	212
1974	193
1975	222
1976	168
1977	233
1978	226
1979	189
1980	199
1988	168
1989	210
1990	196
1991	189
1992	216
1993	211
1994	227
1995	213
1997	195
1998	237
1999	209
2000	207
2001	212
2003	230
2005	223
2009	257
2010	243
2011	273
2012	246
2013	210
2014	219
2016	225
2019	223

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1951	21.3 °C
1952	22.2 °C
1953	22.6 °C
1954	23.2 °C
1955	22.5 °C
1956	21.6 °C
1957	21.4 °C
1958	21.5 °C
1959	22.3 °C
1960	22.1 °C
1961	20.9 °C
1962	21.9 °C
1963	22.2 °C
1964	22.7 °C
1965	22.6 °C
1966	21.9 °C
1967	21.0 °C
1968	21.9 °C
1969	22.4 °C
1970	22.6 °C
1971	21.6 °C
1974	21.1 °C
1975	21.7 °C
1976	21.4 °C
1977	23.6 °C
1978	22.8 °C
1980	23.1 °C
1988	22.4 °C
1989	21.6 °C
1990	21.7 °C
1991	23.0 °C
1992	20.9 °C
1993	21.9 °C
1994	21.4 °C
1995	21.9 °C
1997	20.7 °C
1998	23.1 °C
1999	22.8 °C
2000	22.0 °C
2001	22.6 °C
2002	22.9 °C
2003	21.4 °C
2004	21.6 °C
2005	22.5 °C
2006	22.4 °C
2008	21.5 °C
2009	22.3 °C
2010	25.1 °C
2011	24.0 °C
2012	24.8 °C
2013	22.4 °C
2014	22.3 °C
2015	23.1 °C
2019	23.6 °C
2020	22.7 °C
2021	23.0 °C

What this means for you: Since 1951, Sikeston's last spring frost has come about 4 days earlier per decade, on average. The frost-free season has grown by about 5 days per decade. Year-to-year swings are large, so keep using the safe date rather than the trend.

Source: daily records from Sikeston Pwr Stn (NOAA GHCN-Daily). Years with too many missing days are left out.

Nearby towns

East Prairie Charleston Oran Bloomfield Lilbourn New Madrid