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When to plant in Bismarck, ND

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

Safe to plant out
May 27
1 year in 10 has a later frost
Average last frost
May 15
about a 50% chance of a later one
Average first fall frost
Sep 25
1 year in 10 by Sep 14
Frost-free days
131
median, 1991–2020

Station used: Bismarck · 4.5 km away · station 535 m, town 514 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 Apr 1 – Apr 15 May 27 – Jun 10 Jul 21
Sweet pepper Mar 18 – Apr 1 May 27 – Jun 10 Jul 26
Lettuce (leaf) Mar 13 – Mar 20 Apr 17 – May 1 May 27
Peas — Apr 15 – May 13 Jun 9
Bush beans — May 20 – Jun 10 Jul 9
Carrot — Apr 24 – Jun 5 Jun 23
Beet — Apr 23 – Jun 4 Jun 12
Potato — Apr 24 – May 15 Jul 3
Kale Mar 11 – Mar 25 Apr 22 – May 6 Jun 4
Broccoli Mar 6 – Mar 20 Apr 17 – May 8 Jun 16
Cucumber Apr 29 – May 6 May 27 – Jun 10 Jul 16
Summer squash and zucchini Apr 29 – May 6 May 27 – Jun 10 Jul 11
Winter squash Apr 29 – May 6 May 27 – Jun 10 Aug 15
Sweet corn — May 20 – Jun 10 Jul 19
Onion (from sets) — Apr 17 – May 8 Jul 16
Garlic — Sep 11 – Oct 9 (fall) following summer
Spinach — Apr 15 – May 13 May 23
Basil Apr 15 – Apr 29 May 27 – Jun 10 Jul 23

Plan all 65 crops for Bismarck

Bismarck's weather over time

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

May 1May 15Jun 1 19501960197019801990200020102020
Each year's last spring frostLong-term trend
See the data as a table
YearLast spring frost
1948Apr 20
1949May 24
1950May 8
1951May 11
1952May 17
1953May 14
1954May 10
1955May 8
1956May 4
1957May 5
1958May 6
1959May 23
1960May 11
1961May 26
1962May 1
1963May 22
1964May 31
1965May 28
1966May 13
1967May 15
1968May 21
1969Jun 2
1970May 5
1971May 20
1972May 6
1973May 16
1974May 24
1975May 1
1976May 7
1977May 7
1978Apr 25
1979May 12
1980May 14
1981May 14
1982May 8
1983Jun 5
1984May 26
1985Apr 27
1986May 17
1987May 22
1988May 16
1989May 6
1990May 11
1991May 7
1992May 27
1993May 20
1994May 7
1995May 25
1996May 13
1997May 20
1998Jun 4
1999Apr 24
2000May 13
2001Apr 25
2002May 24
2003May 20
2004May 14
2005May 15
2006May 13
2007May 27
2008May 14
2009May 16
2010May 9
2011May 15
2012May 31
2013May 12
2014May 17
2015May 30
2016May 17
2017May 2
2018May 3
2019May 9
2020May 15
2021May 28
2022May 3
2023May 3
2024May 4

What this means for you: Since 1948, Bismarck's last spring frost has stayed at about the same time of year. The frost-free season has grown by about 1 days per decade. Year-to-year swings are large, so keep using the safe date rather than the trend.

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

Nearby towns

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