When to plant in Oakland, NE

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

Safe to plant out

May 12

1 year in 10 has a later frost

Average last frost

Apr 27

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Oct 7

1 year in 10 by Sep 23

Frost-free days

163

median, 1991–2020

Station used: W Pt · 20.5 km away · station 399 m, town 394 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	Mar 17 – Mar 31	May 12 – May 26	Jul 6
Sweet pepper	Mar 3 – Mar 17	May 12 – May 26	Jul 11
Lettuce (leaf)	Feb 24 – Mar 3	Mar 31 – Apr 14	May 10
Peas	—	Mar 31 – Apr 28	May 25
Bush beans	—	May 5 – May 26	Jun 24
Carrot	—	Apr 10 – May 22	Jun 9
Beet	—	Apr 10 – May 22	May 30
Potato	—	Apr 10 – May 1	Jun 19
Kale	Feb 24 – Mar 10	Apr 7 – Apr 21	May 20
Broccoli	Feb 17 – Mar 3	Mar 31 – Apr 21	May 30
Cucumber	Apr 14 – Apr 21	May 12 – May 26	Jul 1
Summer squash and zucchini	Apr 14 – Apr 21	May 12 – May 26	Jun 26
Winter squash	Apr 14 – Apr 21	May 12 – May 26	Jul 31
Sweet corn	—	May 5 – May 26	Jul 4
Onion (from sets)	—	Mar 31 – Apr 21	Jun 29
Garlic	—	Sep 23 – Oct 21 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Mar 31 – Apr 28	May 8
Basil	Mar 31 – Apr 14	May 12 – May 26	Jul 8

Plan all 65 crops for Oakland

Oakland'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
1897	May 24
1898	Apr 26
1899	Apr 22
1900	May 2
1901	Apr 18
1902	Apr 25
1903	Apr 30
1904	Apr 27
1905	May 5
1906	May 6
1907	May 27
1908	May 8
1909	May 10
1910	May 13
1911	May 2
1912	Apr 22
1913	Apr 13
1914	May 13
1915	May 8
1916	May 18
1917	May 7
1918	Apr 30
1919	Apr 23
1920	Apr 28
1921	May 3
1923	May 9
1924	May 24
1925	May 25
1926	May 14
1927	May 5
1928	Apr 27
1929	May 16
1930	Apr 7
1931	May 22
1932	Apr 27
1933	Apr 15
1934	Apr 27
1935	Apr 16
1936	Apr 22
1937	Apr 28
1938	Apr 9
1939	Apr 19
1940	Apr 18
1941	Apr 21
1942	May 15
1943	May 8
1944	May 7
1945	May 17
1946	May 12
1947	May 29
1948	Apr 9
1949	Apr 19
1950	May 1
1951	Apr 26
1952	Apr 16
1953	May 14
1954	May 9
1955	Apr 7
1956	Apr 30
1957	Apr 14
1958	Apr 29
1959	May 15
1960	May 8
1961	May 2
1962	Apr 16
1963	May 22
1964	Apr 22
1965	Apr 29
1966	May 13
1967	May 3
1968	May 21
1969	May 12
1970	May 2
1971	May 3
1972	Apr 24
1973	May 17
1974	Apr 23
1975	Apr 21
1976	May 7
1977	Apr 25
1978	May 3
1979	May 4
1980	May 9
1981	May 11
1982	Apr 22
1983	May 15
1984	Apr 30
1985	Apr 9
1986	Apr 22
1987	Apr 23
1988	Apr 28
1989	May 7
1990	May 2
1992	Apr 28
1993	Apr 9
1994	May 2
1995	May 2
1996	Apr 30
1997	May 13
1998	Apr 17
1999	Apr 19
2000	Apr 21
2001	Apr 18
2002	May 2
2003	Apr 22
2004	May 14
2005	May 3
2006	Apr 26
2007	Apr 15
2008	Apr 29
2009	Apr 15
2010	Apr 17
2011	May 3
2012	Apr 23
2013	May 12
2014	May 17
2015	Apr 23
2016	Apr 12
2017	Apr 27
2018	Apr 22
2019	May 10
2020	May 11
2021	May 5
2022	Apr 27
2023	May 3
2024	Apr 24
2025	Apr 20
2026	May 6

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1897	137
1898	162
1899	156
1900	167
1901	152
1902	139
1904	177
1905	158
1906	152
1907	120
1908	142
1909	153
1910	161
1911	158
1912	156
1913	161
1914	165
1915	149
1916	133
1917	153
1918	184
1919	176
1920	154
1921	153
1923	156
1924	126
1925	133
1926	132
1927	137
1928	150
1929	157
1930	192
1931	162
1932	160
1933	175
1934	146
1935	163
1936	181
1937	168
1938	196
1939	163
1940	179
1941	188
1942	131
1943	134
1944	154
1945	134
1946	151
1947	152
1948	190
1949	162
1950	154
1951	154
1952	172
1953	164
1954	159
1955	189
1956	152
1957	185
1958	154
1959	146
1960	160
1961	148
1962	190
1963	159
1964	165
1965	147
1966	140
1967	147
1968	135
1969	148
1970	159
1971	142
1972	158
1973	164
1974	132
1975	155
1976	151
1977	160
1978	156
1979	158
1980	139
1981	128
1982	176
1983	128
1984	148
1985	174
1986	172
1987	162
1988	158
1989	138
1990	143
1992	165
1993	182
1994	175
1995	142
1996	162
1997	153
1998	187
1999	154
2000	156
2001	170
2002	163
2003	159
2004	140
2005	156
2006	168
2007	178
2008	169
2009	166
2010	184
2011	142
2012	152
2013	153
2014	146
2015	175
2016	183
2017	166
2018	175
2019	153
2020	143
2021	169
2022	163
2023	165
2024	172
2025	184

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1897	19.2 °C
1898	19.1 °C
1899	19.3 °C
1900	21.0 °C
1901	20.4 °C
1902	18.1 °C
1903	18.3 °C
1904	17.5 °C
1905	18.2 °C
1906	19.0 °C
1907	16.9 °C
1908	18.6 °C
1909	17.7 °C
1910	19.2 °C
1911	20.7 °C
1912	19.3 °C
1913	20.6 °C
1914	20.2 °C
1915	18.2 °C
1916	19.3 °C
1917	18.3 °C
1919	19.6 °C
1920	18.1 °C
1921	20.2 °C
1923	18.6 °C
1924	17.2 °C
1925	20.3 °C
1926	18.9 °C
1927	16.8 °C
1928	18.0 °C
1929	18.8 °C
1930	20.2 °C
1931	20.7 °C
1932	20.3 °C
1933	20.8 °C
1934	21.3 °C
1935	19.2 °C
1936	22.1 °C
1937	21.2 °C
1938	21.2 °C
1939	21.9 °C
1940	19.9 °C
1941	20.8 °C
1942	18.8 °C
1943	19.8 °C
1944	19.2 °C
1945	17.9 °C
1946	19.3 °C
1947	19.4 °C
1948	20.1 °C
1949	19.2 °C
1950	17.5 °C
1951	17.7 °C
1952	20.2 °C
1953	19.5 °C
1954	20.4 °C
1955	21.8 °C
1956	20.1 °C
1957	19.4 °C
1958	19.3 °C
1959	19.6 °C
1960	19.1 °C
1961	17.5 °C
1962	18.4 °C
1963	19.3 °C
1964	18.7 °C
1965	17.9 °C
1966	18.0 °C
1967	18.2 °C
1968	18.7 °C
1969	19.3 °C
1970	20.0 °C
1971	19.1 °C
1972	19.0 °C
1973	19.2 °C
1974	19.1 °C
1975	18.3 °C
1976	19.1 °C
1977	20.0 °C
1978	18.8 °C
1979	18.0 °C
1980	19.2 °C
1981	18.7 °C
1982	17.7 °C
1983	18.3 °C
1984	18.3 °C
1985	18.5 °C
1986	18.6 °C
1987	19.5 °C
1988	19.8 °C
1989	18.5 °C
1990	18.5 °C
1992	16.7 °C
1993	16.9 °C
1994	18.4 °C
1995	17.8 °C
1996	17.1 °C
1997	17.6 °C
1998	19.2 °C
1999	18.2 °C
2000	18.9 °C
2001	19.1 °C
2002	19.1 °C
2003	18.3 °C
2004	17.9 °C
2005	19.5 °C
2006	19.2 °C
2007	19.3 °C
2008	17.6 °C
2009	17.3 °C
2010	19.2 °C
2011	18.2 °C
2012	20.3 °C
2013	17.9 °C
2014	17.9 °C
2015	18.5 °C
2016	19.2 °C
2017	18.6 °C
2018	18.7 °C
2019	18.6 °C
2020	18.5 °C
2021	19.0 °C
2022	18.9 °C
2023	19.2 °C
2024	18.9 °C
2025	19.0 °C
2026	19.4 °C

What this means for you: Since 1897, Oakland'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 W Pt (NOAA GHCN-Daily). Years with too many missing days are left out.

Nearby towns

West Point Tekamah Macy Pender Onawa, IA Wisner