New Sharon, IA 50207 Frost Dates
When can you plant in New Sharon, IA?
The last spring frost here typically falls around 04/21, about 236 days from today. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/16, about 176 frost-free days later.
Zone 5b (-15 to -10°F average annual minimum) comes from the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map; the frost dates above are the 1991-2020 normal at the nearest reporting NOAA station for New Sharon, not a forecast for this year.
What to do before the first frost
About 7 weeks of growing season left in New Sharon before the first fall frost — a cold frame or row cover can stretch harvest weeks past that date.
How much risk comes with planting early here
04/21 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 04/08 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 05/04 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How New Sharon compares
At roughly 176 frost-free days, New Sharon places 26,523 of 40,283 ZIP codes in this dataset. Within IA, it ranks 147 of 1,042.
Learn more
zone vs. frost date covers why Zone 5b and New Sharon's frost date answer different questions. the frost range covers how to read the range around New Sharon's dates instead of trusting one.