When to plant in Rolla, ND

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

Last spring frost

Early · riskyMay 79 years in 10 still get a later frost
TypicalMay 18about half of years get a later frost
Safe to plant outMay 281 year in 10 gets a later frost

Hardy crops like peas and spinach are timed from the typical date. Wait for the safe date before planting out tomatoes, peppers and squash.

First fall frost

EarlySep 131 year in 10 has frost by then
TypicalSep 26about half of years have had frost
LateOct 69 years in 10 have had frost by then

A typical year has 128 frost-free days. Plan for tender crops to be ripe by the early date.

Station used: Rolla 1ne · 3.5 km away · station 559 m, town 553 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	Apr 2 – Apr 16	May 28 – Jun 11	Jul 22
Sweet pepper	Mar 19 – Apr 2	May 28 – Jun 11	Jul 27
Lettuce (leaf)	Mar 21 – Mar 28	Apr 25 – May 9	Jun 4
Peas	—	Apr 25 – May 23	Jun 19
Bush beans	—	May 21 – Jun 11	Jul 10
Carrot	—	May 5 – Jun 16	Jul 4
Beet	—	May 5 – Jun 16	Jun 24
Potato	—	May 5 – May 26	Jul 14
Kale	Mar 21 – Apr 4	May 2 – May 16	Jun 14
Broccoli	Mar 14 – Mar 28	Apr 25 – May 16	Jun 24
Cucumber	Apr 30 – May 7	May 28 – Jun 11	Jul 17
Summer squash and zucchini	Apr 30 – May 7	May 28 – Jun 11	Jul 12
Winter squash	Apr 30 – May 7	May 28 – Jun 11	Aug 16
Sweet corn	—	May 21 – Jun 11	Jul 20
Onion (from sets)	—	Apr 25 – May 16	Jul 24
Garlic	—	Sep 12 – Oct 10 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Apr 25 – May 23	Jun 2
Basil	Apr 16 – Apr 30	May 28 – Jun 11	Jul 24

Plan all 65 crops for Rolla

Rolla'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
1905	May 25
1906	May 27
1938	May 23
1939	May 11
1940	May 16
1941	May 9
1942	May 26
1943	May 27
1944	May 8
1945	May 29
1946	May 24
1947	May 31
1948	May 13
1949	May 24
1950	Jun 3
1951	May 12
1952	Jun 1
1953	May 16
1954	May 19
1955	May 10
1956	May 15
1957	May 23
1958	May 22
1959	May 27
1960	May 11
1961	May 26
1962	May 8
1963	May 22
1964	Jun 1
1965	May 28
1966	May 27
1967	May 14
1968	May 23
1969	Jun 20
1970	May 26
1971	May 19
1972	May 8
1973	May 14
1974	Jun 10
1976	May 7
1977	May 7
1978	May 1
1979	May 20
1980	May 12
1981	May 12
1982	May 9
1983	May 20
1984	May 26
1985	May 14
1986	May 17
1987	May 22
1988	May 16
1989	May 7
1990	May 18
1991	May 7
1992	May 25
1993	May 17
1994	May 6
1995	May 14
1996	May 12
1997	May 21
1998	Jun 3
1999	May 23
2000	May 18
2001	Apr 24
2002	May 24
2003	May 20
2004	May 17
2005	May 15
2006	May 11
2007	May 25
2009	Jun 6

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1905	109
1938	117
1939	121
1940	116
1941	138
1942	114
1944	144
1945	108
1946	100
1947	113
1948	140
1949	112
1950	117
1951	132
1952	109
1953	127
1954	124
1955	122
1956	113
1957	118
1958	125
1959	105
1960	134
1961	99
1962	133
1963	156
1964	101
1965	113
1966	120
1967	135
1968	127
1969	94
1970	108
1972	135
1973	123
1974	85
1976	138
1977	155
1978	158
1979	136
1980	136
1981	139
1982	128
1983	123
1984	117
1985	128
1986	118
1987	132
1988	139
1989	126
1990	140
1991	133
1992	119
1993	119
1994	155
1995	128
1996	139
1997	141
1998	119
1999	130
2000	127
2001	163
2002	123
2003	127
2004	136
2005	142
2006	119
2007	108

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1904	12.2 °C
1905	13.2 °C
1938	14.7 °C
1939	14.9 °C
1940	14.0 °C
1941	14.8 °C
1942	13.1 °C
1944	13.9 °C
1945	12.1 °C
1946	14.4 °C
1947	13.6 °C
1948	13.8 °C
1949	14.5 °C
1950	11.5 °C
1951	12.6 °C
1952	14.8 °C
1953	13.3 °C
1954	12.0 °C
1955	14.4 °C
1956	12.8 °C
1957	13.4 °C
1958	13.7 °C
1959	13.7 °C
1960	14.2 °C
1961	14.0 °C
1962	13.3 °C
1963	14.5 °C
1964	13.6 °C
1965	12.6 °C
1966	13.3 °C
1967	13.3 °C
1968	12.9 °C
1969	13.8 °C
1970	13.7 °C
1971	13.9 °C
1972	13.0 °C
1973	13.2 °C
1974	11.8 °C
1976	14.4 °C
1977	14.5 °C
1978	13.8 °C
1979	11.7 °C
1980	13.9 °C
1981	13.4 °C
1983	12.9 °C
1984	13.4 °C
1985	12.3 °C
1986	12.4 °C
1987	14.7 °C
1988	15.5 °C
1989	14.2 °C
1990	13.5 °C
1991	14.3 °C
1992	11.4 °C
1993	11.7 °C
1994	13.3 °C
1995	12.7 °C
1996	12.2 °C
1997	13.0 °C
1998	14.5 °C
1999	12.7 °C
2000	12.8 °C
2001	13.6 °C
2002	12.8 °C
2003	14.3 °C
2004	11.5 °C
2005	13.6 °C
2006	14.6 °C
2007	13.5 °C

What this means for you: Since 1905, Rolla'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 Rolla 1ne (NOAA GHCN-Daily). Years with too many missing days are left out.

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