When to plant in Aberdeen, SD

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

Safe to plant out

May 21

1 year in 10 has a later frost

Average last frost

May 9

about a 50% chance of a later one

Average first fall frost

Sep 25

1 year in 10 by Sep 13

Frost-free days

143

median, 1991–2020

Station used: Aberdeen · 5.8 km away · station 422 m, town 397 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 26 – Apr 9	May 21 – Jun 4	Jul 15
Sweet pepper	Mar 12 – Mar 26	May 21 – Jun 4	Jul 20
Lettuce (leaf)	Mar 8 – Mar 15	Apr 12 – Apr 26	May 22
Peas	—	Apr 12 – May 10	Jun 6
Bush beans	—	May 14 – Jun 4	Jul 3
Carrot	—	Apr 21 – Jun 2	Jun 20
Beet	—	Apr 21 – Jun 2	Jun 10
Potato	—	Apr 21 – May 12	Jun 30
Kale	Mar 8 – Mar 22	Apr 19 – May 3	Jun 1
Broccoli	Mar 1 – Mar 15	Apr 12 – May 3	Jun 11
Cucumber	Apr 23 – Apr 30	May 21 – Jun 4	Jul 10
Summer squash and zucchini	Apr 23 – Apr 30	May 21 – Jun 4	Jul 5
Winter squash	Apr 23 – Apr 30	May 21 – Jun 4	Aug 9
Sweet corn	—	May 14 – Jun 4	Jul 13
Onion (from sets)	—	Apr 12 – May 3	Jul 11
Garlic	—	Sep 11 – Oct 9 (fall)	following summer
Spinach	—	Apr 12 – May 10	May 20
Basil	Apr 9 – Apr 23	May 21 – Jun 4	Jul 17

Plan all 65 crops for Aberdeen

Aberdeen'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
1893	May 25
1895	May 26
1896	Apr 17
1897	Jun 6
1898	May 22
1899	May 18
1900	May 2
1901	Jun 7
1902	Jun 21
1903	May 3
1904	May 12
1905	May 12
1906	May 19
1907	May 27
1908	May 8
1910	May 21
1911	Jun 7
1912	May 16
1913	May 6
1914	May 12
1915	May 19
1916	May 3
1917	May 7
1918	May 13
1919	Apr 28
1920	Apr 30
1921	May 15
1922	Apr 19
1923	May 12
1924	May 25
1925	May 17
1926	May 19
1927	May 5
1928	Apr 27
1929	May 20
1930	May 17
1931	May 22
1932	Apr 27
1933	Apr 27
1934	Apr 27
1935	May 4
1936	Apr 29
1937	Apr 28
1938	Jun 11
1939	May 15
1940	May 16
1941	May 23
1942	May 14
1943	May 13
1944	May 8
1945	May 17
1946	Jun 2
1947	May 30
1948	May 12
1949	May 24
1950	May 10
1951	May 10
1952	May 12
1953	May 15
1954	May 19
1955	May 10
1956	May 4
1957	May 9
1958	May 6
1959	May 22
1960	May 11
1961	May 26
1962	May 1
1963	May 23
1964	May 31
1965	May 28
1966	May 13
1967	May 20
1968	May 21
1969	May 17
1970	May 4
1971	May 12
1972	May 7
1973	May 17
1974	May 15
1975	May 3
1976	May 7
1977	May 2
1978	May 1
1979	May 12
1980	May 14
1981	May 13
1982	May 7
1983	May 25
1984	May 1
1985	May 6
1986	May 2
1987	Apr 22
1988	May 13
1989	May 6
1990	May 18
1991	May 7
1992	May 26
1993	May 2
1994	May 1
1995	Apr 26
1996	May 10
1997	May 20
1998	Apr 22
1999	Apr 23
2000	May 14
2001	Apr 24
2002	May 24
2003	May 20
2004	May 14
2005	May 15
2006	May 2
2007	Apr 18
2008	May 21
2009	May 16
2010	May 9
2011	May 3
2012	May 30
2013	May 12
2014	May 17
2015	May 12
2016	May 15
2017	May 4
2018	May 2
2019	May 10
2020	May 12
2021	May 12
2022	May 22
2023	May 3
2024	May 5

Each year's frost-free daysLong-term trend

See the data as a table

Year	Frost-free days
1893	94
1895	103
1896	140
1897	102
1898	109
1899	130
1900	137
1901	103
1903	133
1904	131
1905	142
1907	120
1908	141
1911	131
1912	131
1913	137
1914	151
1915	124
1916	134
1917	150
1918	125
1919	163
1920	152
1921	144
1922	171
1923	145
1924	126
1925	136
1926	127
1927	137
1928	148
1930	132
1931	138
1932	154
1933	162
1934	146
1935	145
1936	150
1937	141
1938	98
1939	132
1940	116
1941	127
1942	127
1943	119
1944	152
1945	129
1946	118
1947	114
1948	149
1949	112
1950	125
1951	133
1952	129
1953	128
1954	125
1955	123
1956	124
1957	160
1958	146
1959	110
1960	123
1961	100
1962	126
1963	128
1964	102
1965	118
1966	124
1967	129
1968	134
1969	143
1970	156
1971	128
1972	141
1973	121
1974	110
1975	150
1976	138
1977	152
1978	142
1979	131
1980	140
1981	126
1982	136
1983	119
1984	146
1985	140
1986	154
1987	130
1988	141
1989	129
1990	127
1991	134
1992	104
1993	143
1994	147
1995	146
1996	136
1997	122
1998	152
1999	156
2000	123
2001	152
2002	121
2003	121
2004	136
2005	135
2006	139
2007	149
2008	144
2009	144
2010	157
2011	134
2012	105
2013	147
2014	117
2015	148
2016	143
2017	152
2018	148
2019	149
2020	119
2021	135
2022	128
2023	155
2024	151

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

See the data as a table

Year	Growing-season temperature
1893	15.4 °C
1895	16.9 °C
1896	16.1 °C
1897	16.6 °C
1898	16.3 °C
1899	16.8 °C
1900	18.7 °C
1901	17.3 °C
1902	15.6 °C
1903	16.7 °C
1904	15.0 °C
1905	15.6 °C
1906	16.5 °C
1907	13.9 °C
1908	16.1 °C
1910	16.1 °C
1911	15.7 °C
1912	15.5 °C
1913	17.4 °C
1914	16.5 °C
1915	14.9 °C
1916	15.5 °C
1917	15.0 °C
1918	15.1 °C
1919	17.3 °C
1920	15.9 °C
1921	18.3 °C
1922	18.5 °C
1923	17.3 °C
1924	15.1 °C
1925	17.8 °C
1926	17.2 °C
1927	16.1 °C
1928	16.7 °C
1929	16.9 °C
1930	18.0 °C
1931	19.1 °C
1932	18.8 °C
1933	19.4 °C
1934	18.7 °C
1935	17.1 °C
1936	19.5 °C
1937	18.4 °C
1938	17.5 °C
1939	17.5 °C
1940	16.5 °C
1941	17.8 °C
1942	15.4 °C
1943	17.0 °C
1944	16.6 °C
1945	15.1 °C
1946	16.9 °C
1947	16.4 °C
1948	17.1 °C
1949	17.1 °C
1950	14.2 °C
1951	14.6 °C
1952	17.0 °C
1953	15.6 °C
1954	15.6 °C
1955	18.0 °C
1956	15.6 °C
1957	15.9 °C
1958	16.0 °C
1959	17.1 °C
1960	15.7 °C
1961	15.6 °C
1962	15.9 °C
1963	17.2 °C
1964	16.5 °C
1965	15.2 °C
1966	15.8 °C
1967	15.5 °C
1968	15.3 °C
1969	16.5 °C
1970	16.8 °C
1971	16.9 °C
1972	16.9 °C
1973	17.2 °C
1974	16.4 °C
1975	17.3 °C
1976	18.3 °C
1977	17.8 °C
1978	16.7 °C
1979	15.6 °C
1980	17.2 °C
1981	17.5 °C
1982	16.3 °C
1983	16.8 °C
1984	16.2 °C
1985	16.4 °C
1986	16.1 °C
1987	18.1 °C
1988	18.6 °C
1989	16.9 °C
1990	16.4 °C
1991	17.9 °C
1992	15.1 °C
1993	15.6 °C
1994	17.1 °C
1995	15.7 °C
1996	15.4 °C
1997	15.7 °C
1998	17.4 °C
1999	16.3 °C
2000	16.2 °C
2001	17.2 °C
2002	16.3 °C
2003	16.3 °C
2004	15.2 °C
2005	17.1 °C
2006	17.2 °C
2007	16.8 °C
2008	15.8 °C
2009	15.4 °C
2010	17.3 °C
2011	16.5 °C
2012	17.5 °C
2013	15.6 °C
2014	15.0 °C
2015	17.4 °C
2016	17.5 °C
2017	16.6 °C
2018	17.0 °C
2019	16.4 °C
2020	17.4 °C
2021	18.2 °C
2022	17.2 °C
2023	17.8 °C
2024	17.9 °C

What this means for you: Since 1893, Aberdeen'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 Aberdeen (NOAA GHCN-Daily). Years with too many missing days are left out.

Nearby towns

Groton Ellendale, ND Redfield Britton Webster Oakes, ND